Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin insists there will be no pressure on winger Topi Keskinen following his £860,000 signing and despite his debut winner.
Winger Keskinen was secured in a big money transfer from Finnish top-flight club HJK Helsinki.
The outlay for the 21-year-old is the second-highest transfer fee ever paid by Aberdeen, behind only the £1 million for Paul Bernard in 1995.
Keskinen made an immediate impact when scoring a dramatic injury-time winner in the 1-0 Premier Sports Cup last-16 defeat of Queen’s Park.
The Finnish U21 international was introduced off the bench in the second half for his debut.
Despite the high transfer fee and scoring debut, Thelin will not pile pressure on the wideman – and insists his development will be “step by step”,
Keskinen is contracted to Aberdeen for four years, until summer 2028.
Thelin said: “It’s always nice when a new player arrives and can make an impact.
“However, it was Topi’s first game and you should not put any pressure on him.
“It is step by step.
“I’m really happy for Topi to score a winning goal to get us through to the next round.”
Keskinen quickly gelling into squad
Keskinen was introduced off the bench for his debut in the 57th minute against Queen’s Park when replacing Shayden Morris.
The tie was heading for extra-time until the Finnish winger netted a dramatic winner 90 seconds into added time.
Aberdeen fought off competition from clubs in Europe, including Italy’s Serie A, and the American MLS to land the highly rated wing king.
Keskinen took the Veikkausliiga (Finnish top flight) by storm in his debut season at HJK Helsinki.
He netted seven goals and eight assists to help the club win the Finnish top flight title and Liigacup.
That red-hot form was rewarded with Keskinen securing the prestigious Veikkausliiga “rookie of the year” award for 2023.
Keskinen completed his transfer to Aberdeen just five days before the cup tie against Queen’s Park.
He arrived at Pittodrie having played 23 games already for HJK Helsinki this season, with seven goals and two assists.
Thelin said: “It is not easy to just have some training sessions and then go into the team with new ideas and new team-mates.
“However, Topi adapted really quickly and had some good runs in behind and a really good finish for the goal.”
‘Topi is a different kind of profile from the players we have’
Keskinen is Thelin’s sixth signing of his first transfer window as Aberdeen manager.
Thelin has also signed keeper Dimitar Mitov, centre-back Gavin Molloy, midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen, striker Peter Ambrose and midfielder Ante Palaversa.
All are signed on permanent contract of three years or more – apart from Palaversa.
Croatian Palaversa signed on a one-year deal from French club ES Troyes, although the Dons have the option for another two years.
Palaversa was named in the Dons match-day squad for the first time against Queen’s Park following the completion of a work visa.
The midfielder, who Manchester City signed for £6m in 2019, was an unused substitute.
Thelin said: “Topi is a different kind of profile from the players we have.
“Topi and Shayden both bring that directness, but they have different skills, so Topi is adding something to the squad.”
No panic from Aberdeen in cup tie
Keskinen’s superb winning goal maintained the 100 percent start to the season under Thelin.
Aberdeen boast a 100 percent record with seven wins from seven in all competitions.
Thelin praised his side for remaining calm against Championship Queen’s Park as extra-time loomed.
He said: “It was a difficult game against Queen’s Park.
“We had some opportunities in the first half, but they also had two really strong chances.
“Sometimes you need some individual effort to save these, also some luck.
“However, we stayed in the game and tried to be consistent.
“I liked that the team remained calm, didn’t get frustrated and continued to use the ideas we have.”
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