Flying Finn Topi Keskinen will thrill Aberdeen fans with “world-class speed”, according to an HJK Helsinki expert.
On Monday, the Pittodrie club confirmed the statement signing of 21-year-old left winger Keskinen from the Finnish Veikkausliiga champions, landing him on a four-year deal for an eye-catching fee of £860,000 – the second-biggest transfer outlay in Dons history.
HJK fan Markus Kitunen is part of the Nappulakengät-podcast, and revealed Reds boss Jimmy Thelin has acquired an attacker whose pace has been lethal to opposition sides during his 18 months in Helsinki.
Markus said: “The clearest strength is his speed without the ball, which is world-class speed.
“You don’t see players who are that fast in Finland very often – if ever.
“The way he dribbles and his speed with the ball is very impressive, and the way he attacks one on one situations at top speed.
“He has a very clever way he can manoeuvre defenders when he’s running to make them make mistakes and then go past them.
“Usually he scores in those situations as well.
“Maybe one overlooked quality is his overall stamina, because he gives you 90 minutes of pure running, and does it in every game.”
‘Keskinen has been the player they look up to’
HJK’s season has not gone to plan so far.
They are fourth in their league after 19 games, and unexpectedly suffered a Champions League first qualifying round tie loss to Lithuania’s Panevezys.
However, Markus says wideman Keskinen – who plays on the left, but is right-footed – has been their shining light in Finland’s 2024 summer season.
He added: “For the team, it hasn’t gone as well as it should have – Keskinen has been the player they look up to and he has to shoulder too much of a burden in terms of HJK’s attacking play.
“I think he’s done well. He’s scored six goals, assisted a few.
“He could’ve scored more, but that’s just the way it goes.
“But he’s been playing a lot, so he’s in really good shape, and definitely HJK’s top player and most important player.”
If there is a weak point in Keskinen’s game, Markus thinks it is breaking through defences who are sitting deep, and said: “He’s scored more goals this season, but I think he can improve that as well.”
Keskinen worth more then £860k – as he chooses Scottish shop window
With a year left on his deal, Markus says it was expected HJK would choose to cash in on their star man in the current transfer window, something they have done to the tune of 1,000,000 euros.
The podcaster’s view on the deal is it is both good business relative to Finnish clubs’ transfer sales record, but, on the other hand, the fee might be low relative to Keskinen’s talent.
Markus said: “Usually you don’t get those types of fees for Finnish players when they transfer out of the Finnish league, so in that respect it’s a lot of money.
“I think HJK were trying to get as much as they could get.
“In my view, and in the overall view of people, I think it’s a little bit less than they could have got for him.
“But I don’t know what other teams have offered, and Aberdeen’s offer will have been at least as good as those.”
Given Aberdeen and HJK were Europa Conference League group opponents little under a year ago (drawing at both Pittodrie and the Bolt Arena) does Keskinen’s move to the Reds – after links to clubs in England and Italy – look like a sideways switch to Finnish fans?
Markus said: “Maybe that was my first thought when I heard the news, because there were clubs from Italian Serie A who were interested in him, and, according to some stories, HJK had declined an offer from one of them.
“That may have been maybe too big a step.
“I don’t think it (Aberdeen) is a sideways step.
“The easy rationale is he’ll be in a better window going to Scotland.
“In terms of the football Keskinen plays, this might be a good move for him, because in the Scottish league the team’s play a more direct brand of football than in some other places, so that should suit him very well.
“He can use his strengths more.”
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