2019 Finnish League Prospects Power Ranking – Final update

Another season is behind us, and so another edition of the Finnish League Prospects Power Ranking comes to its end. Last season saw a flurry of moves abroad, whereas this season has seen far less action. Looking back to last year’s list, I think I did a fairly good job at ranking prospects. Of the top 10 only Eetu Vertainen really lost a bit of stock in 2019, the rest either moved abroad, graduated due to age, or stayed roughly in place. The further down the list we go, the more speculative it becomes, and the less specific the rankings become. Is there any particular reason to rank one player at 36 compared to 37? Not really, you could just as well flip them. So the list should be considered less a definitive statement regarding a particular player, and more an indication of the rough tier he belongs to at this particular moment in time.

Since the last list, a couple of things have happened that impact this list more or less. Firstly, SJK decided to use their option to buy Jude Arthur, after an impressive maiden season. I’ve used him as an example of players I’m not including in the span of this exercise all season, but now I don’t really see a reason to exclude him anymore. Secondly, Tariq Kazi moved to Bashundhara Kings of the Bangladeshi league. Last season he made his breakthrough at Ilves but couldn’t retain his place in 2019, and only ended up playing a handful of minutes.

A reminder that the I’m only covering players owned by a team in Finland, so notable prospects like Kaan Kairinen, and so forth are disregarded. I’m also only interested in players younger than 23, and since age is tricky since it changes all the time, I’m going to use age seasons instead (that is, if you’re born in 2000, your age season in 2019 is 19). A reminder that I’m heavily favouring minutes played over most other statistics, as I think that it is what’s most important for young players. I’m also weighing minutes at the top tier higher than minutes at Ykkönen level, because of course I am.

Graduates:

Lassi Lappalainen – Bologna (Montreal Impact)

The list:

Rank (previous)	Name	Age	Team	Minutes	Primary Position
1 (1)	Lucas Lingman	21	RoPS	2382	MC
So, in the end, Lingman got to stamp his return ticket to Helsinki. He’s largely been carrying RoPS for a couple of seasons, and will hope to keep going on his return to the capital. He will supply HJK with something they have been sorely lacking: creativity from midfield. In theory, a midfield containing Parra, Väänänen and Lingman seems like a nice blend of industry and creativity, whether that is the setup that will end up being used is a different question. Has been the number one prospect in the league for a full season, and is still young enough to be around next year as well.
2 (2)	Lauri Ala-Myllymäki	22	Ilves	2155	AMC/CF
Man, does it feel like I’ve been saying the exact same thing about Ala-Myllymäki all season. I like him as a player, but a lot of his strong sides are distorted by the fact that he’s scored a bunch of penalties and a couple of free kicks. I still think he’s more of a midfielder, and I think Ilves would’ve benefitted from playing him deeper, and using Naatan Skyttä in his place from a much earlier date. That being said, he took the most shots per 90 in the top two tiers this season, it’s just that a lot of those efforts were speculative. He has a good shot, and his highlight reel will make it seem worthwhile, but there’s an even better player in there, if used properly.
3 (3)	Ilmari Niskanen	22	KuPS	2394	RW
Ilmari Niskanen is a fun player in many ways. He made the bench of the first team in 2013, made his debut in 2014, established himself as a first-teamer in 2015 and has been an above-average-to-good Veikkausliiga winger since 2016. He broke out properly in 2018 and, even if he maybe has stagnated a bit in 2019, he graduates from this list in third place, a league winner, and a core cog in the team that won it all, at that. For the second year running, he was one of the U22s with the most minutes in the league. It’s not a bad way to go even if expectations were even higher.
4 (6)	Santeri Väänänen	17	HJK	656	MC
There’s a decent chance Väänänen will be a first choice midfielder for HJK next season, and if he isn’t, he seriously should consider going on loan somewhere where he would be. Like Skyttä, he’s a young player who has a genuine chance of making his team better right now. Plays with a lot of personality, even if the skill set is wide enough at this stage that his future role is still a bit unclear.
5 (26)	Naatan Skyttä	17	Ilves	555	AMC
Skyttä is probably my favorite prospect in Finnish football at the moment, and he’d probably be number one or two if he’d played two times the minutes he ended up playing. There are a lot of young players on this list where I’m not really sure what their strengths and weaknesses are, mainly due to young players often struggling to stamp their authority on the game and ending up looking a little lost – that has never been the case with Skyttä. He is a player who inevitably is at the center of what his team wants to do, always looking to receive the ball between the defensive lines, and constantly betting on himself to be able to do something with the ball once he gets it. The thing is, I’m pretty sure Ilves would have benefited from it as well, because in the brief time he played, he was 5th in the league in key passes per 90 while completing the third most dribbles per 90. It doesn’t mean he’d have kept up the pace – which is why I’m being conservative in his placement – and his xA per 90 was only closer to 20th best in the league (still pretty good for a teenager!). Either way, he’s still way ahead even in playing time compared to his peers (17 year olds play on average 224 minutes per season in either of the top two tiers).
6 (N/A)	Jude Arthur	20	SJK	1510	MC
Hey Jude! The Veikkausliiga tackles leader makes an appearance at the death. SJK decided to pull the trigger on Arthur’s option, and so here he is. I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen, and if the trajectory stays the same, he’ll potentially make them their money back, maybe even with a tidy profit. He’s an effective shield in front of the defense, who gets involved defensively, is good in the air and is a tidy passer. Will play an important part for next year’s new look SJK.
7 (5)	Salomo Ojala	22	Haka	2160	FW
Questions persist about Salomo Ojala’s true talent level, and whether he can pick up in the Veikkausliiga where he left off in the second tier. He’s an intriguing mix of different qualities, and has mostly been deployed as a second striker, with responsibilities beyond poaching goals. He might suffer slightly from the higher tempo a level up, but he’ll hopefully have time to settle down under familiar management so even only a median projection would seemingly be that he’s one of the top young(ish) goalscorers in the league next year. He won’t appear on this list due to his age, but he’ll be fondly remembered nonetheless.
8 (7)	Juho Hyvärinen	19	RoPS	2358	RB
I try to be careful when rating young players who play for teams whose hands are forced when it comes to playing them. RoPS in 2019 was on the margins of this category, handing out a lot of responsibility to players who were very much learning on the job. That being said, Juho Hyvärinen played more minutes in 2019 than almost any other player. He had his ups and downs like any teenager will, but he essentially played all of the minutes he was available for, which is something that few players can say. Will need to move to a team with higher aspirations before long, though, because if he can’t show off his contribution in attack, he’ll run the risk of becoming just another Veikkausliiga right back.
9 (4)	Jasin-Amin Assehnoun	21	Lahti	1941	LW/LWB
Assehnoun is a difficult one to judge because he essentially split his playing time between left wing and left wing back. In both cases, his strength is largely the same – genuine 1-v-1 ability – but his opportunity to use it and the circumstances around him varied depending on the system. He’s one of the strongest dribblers in the league – 5th overall in successful dribbles per 90 – and that usually tends to lead to good things, so hopes are high.
10 (13)	Luis Henrique	21	HIFK	1287	CF
Luis Henrique joined HIFK late, but made an instant impression. His tenacity reminds me of Alfredo Morelos a little bit, even if the offensive output (beyond goals [0.54 NPG per 90] and assists [0.46 per 90]) doesn’t quite match the Colombian’s. If he stays another season with HIFK, I have a feeling his development might be key to determining where they are going to sit in the table.
11 (14)	Tommi Jyry	20	KuPS	1457	MC
That’s two titles in two years for Tommi Jyry, who made the bold decision last season to move from a HIFK where he had established himself as a first-teamer to a title-chasing KuPS, already blessed with options for his position. The move payed off in many ways, as Jyry fought his way into the starting eleven in Kuopio as well. He’s an energetic midfielder who is more of a neat passer than a creative force. He played the Ville Saxman role decently for KuPS, and I think that his type of combination of defensive work rate and desire to get into the box to finish chances is something that Jyry could develop into with time. His only goal this season is a good example of this exact thing, as he lunged onto a low cross inside the goalkeeper’s area to bundle it home.
12 (8)	Kalle Katz	19	RoPS (HJK)	1511	CB
After Toni Koskela left RoPS, Katz’s playing time sort of dried up a little bit. His season was nothing special, so it’s understandable that he’d be dropped in the midst of a relegation battle – or maybe there was an injury that I couldn’t find information about online? Either way, his contract with HJK is up and his form at RoPS is probably going to at least partly determine whether he’ll get an extension with HJK or not. I would suggest a move abroad at this point, but in all honesty I think he would have had to have leaned more heavily onto his strengths – passing and dribbling – in 2019 for that to be relevant at this stage. HJK in 2019 could be good for him, but with the catastrophal way the season ended, I wonder if they’ll dare trust youth in 2020. This slideshow requires JavaScript.
13 (18)	Enoch Banza	19	KPV (HJK)	1673	LW/RW
Another HJK loanee, Banza rises in the ranks because he seemed to show genuine development toward the end of the season. Maybe it was the addition of Ishmael Yartey that pushed him to produce better, maybe due to being played solely on the left wing, from where he had a more natural avenue into the box. His shotmap shows that he gets a fair amount of centrally located shots, despite being a winger, which is an intriguing development well worth following. He ends the season with a decent tally of goal contribution and the hope that he’ll get a chance to do better next season for HJK.
14 (10)	Severi Kähkönen	19	Jaro	1337	AMC
In terms of overall performance, Kähkönen has probably been just about as good as anyone on this list. According to InStat’s player positions, he has mostly played in central midfield somewhere, but I think he should probably be considered more of an attacking midfielder. This matters, because compared to other central midfielders, his shot, goal and xG contribution is off the charts good, whereas compared to attacking midfielders it’s just really, really good. Either way, you’d like to see him play at a higher level pretty soon, because this season has showed that the Ykkönen has very little left to teach him.
15 (9)	Akseli Ollila	19	EIF	2108	LW
Ollila has been developing at a steady pace since moving to EIF last season and at this point he is one of the standout attackers in the division. He scores a lot of penalties, which adds to his goal tally, but a total of 6 non-penalty goals and 3 assists off around 5 xG and 5 xA is a very decent total for a winger. Looking at his shotmap, you’ll notice that he rarely missed from close to goal this season – is that an indication of xG overperformance or good finishing? Another player who should be looking to play at a higher level next season, who shouldn’t have trouble finding takers. This slideshow requires JavaScript.
16 (17)	Eetu Vertainen	20	HJK	1484	CF
After the title chances dried up for HJK, Vertainen was given a chance to lead the line and did so in much the same way as he had done previously – pretty well, showing a decent array of ability while still seeming like there’s something missing if he wants to make it at HJK. At his best, he’s a live-wire. He’s physical yet light-footed, can dribble, can shoot, can pass – just needs to get his head straight and next season will be far better for him, as long as HJK contributes with sufficient playing time. Looking at his shotmap, you see a player who should have scored closer to his xG of around 5, rather than just the 2 NPG he ended up getting.
17 (16)	Eemeli Virta	19	Lahti	1920	MC
A nice season alltogether for Virta, and one in which he established himself as a tidy passes, and competent defensive midfielder. He scores in the 75th percentile for tackles, the 85th percentile for interceptions and almost 90th percentile for aerial win percentage among midfielders, which seems intriguing. If he can continue on the same path next season, he’ll potentially carve something of a niche for him, which is of interest.
18 (12)	Yussif Moussa	21	Ilves	1516	MC/AMC
Moussa provides lots of shots, lots of dribbles and lots of tackles from midfield, which is an interesting profile. A lot of the shots are speculative, though, so with some tactical honing Ilves could have a gem on their hands.
19 (11)	Anthony Olusanya	19	Jaro	1327	LW/CF
Olusanya started the season in great form but dropped off a bit as the season progressed. His final playing position is still something of a question mark. Unlike Kähkönen, he doesn’t stand out while watching him play, but he has the numbers to make you intrigued.
20 (15)	Aapo Mäenpää	21	IFK Mariehamn	1877	RB
IFK Mariehamn’s season should be considered a success based on pre-season expectations, and Mäenpää has been an important cog in their machinery for three seasons now. He’s a defensively solid right back – maybe the least sexy player profile I can think of – which means two things: the senior national team is probably not too many steps away, and his ceiling is probably fairly moderate. His contract is up according to transfermarkt, so we’ll see where he ends up next season.
21 (27)	Elias Mastokangas	18	Inter	388	AMC
It’s hard to blame Inter for not playing Mastokangas more – would he have taken the place of Mika Ojala, Filip Valencic or Timo Furuholm? – and you would have forgiven them for playing Albion Ademi ahead of him also. He ended up ahead of Ademi in the pecking order, which is to his credit, and he showed a lot of promise while on the pitch. Needs to play more – a lot more – next season, so should probably consider an inter-league loan if that playing time isn’t to be found in Turku. Maybe a controversial cross-town switch?
22 (N/A)	Arlind Sejdiu	18	Honka	375	LW
I had my eyes on Sejdiu already heading into the season, and I’m disappointed that he only managed to play as little as he did. I am, however, a bit surprised by how well he performed while on the pitch. 0.48 Non-Penalty Goals per 90 and 0.24 Assists pre 90 is a good, if slightly lucky, start. But 0.31 xG per 90 from out wide is something that any team would take any time. My fear is that Honka will persist with their policy to only play players over 25, and if so, I hope Sejdiu will look to go on loan somewhere, because he looks an intriguing prospect.
23 (21)	Jeremiah Streng	18	SJK	973	CF
My hope is that Streng will be the key beneficiary of Jani Honkavaara taking over at SJK, as a centre forward fitting the general characteristics of what he seems to want for that position. This season was a win just for the amount of playing time he managed to accumulate, but looking at the way Naatan Skyttä or Santeri Väänänen managed to provide key contributions for their teams, you have to look at it a bit more cautiously.
24 (22)	Pyry Lampinen	17	Lahti	537	CF
It’s hard to keep up the pace when you score with your first two shots in the league. Lampinen cooled off understandably, but was also shunted to the right wing as it became clear he wasn’t going to score with his every touch. Adds to the interesting generation of young strikers knocking on doors at various clubs – some of whom would deserve to be on this list had they appeared enough in the league.
25 (23)	Matias Tamminen	18	RoPS	813	CF
2019 will go down as a success for Matias Tamminen, if only for getting a fair enough of playing time and scoring a couple of league goals. While RoPS has been a good environment for player development for a fairly long time now, that might not have been as true for their center forwards. Tamminen seems like a player who needs more service in the box – almost all of his shots this season were from inside the box, and all of them were from close to the goal line – rather than attacks built through deliberate build up. Hopefully there will be more mass in 2020, because the quality of chances is there.
26 (20)	Axel Vidjeskog	18	Jaro	1063	AM
Last season, it felt like there was something of a dearth of promising teenagers playing actively in either of the top two tiers. This season, I’m placing Axel Vidjeskog in 26th and feeling a bit bad about because he could just as well be higher. Jaro have a fun team, and Vidjeskog is a part of it. He lacks the polish of Severi Kähkönen and the raw end product of Anthony Olusanya, but he’s a year younger. Next year will be illustrative.
27 (19)	Anttoni Huttunen	18	MyPa	1535	LW
Huttunen was unfortunately injured approaching the end of the season, and in his absence MyPa managed to squeeze out another season in the second tier. Huttunen showed flashes of brilliance during his time on the pitch and ended up with similar xA numbers to Petteri Pennanen or Lucas Kaufman one level above. With players like him, I tend to hope that the progression is quick: I’d rather see him play for a better team, in a better league, with better teammates as soon as possible, and I remember reading somewhere that he had been training with HIFK during the season – that could be potentially be a good next step.
28 (35)	Kevin Larsson	18	HIFK	672	RW
This slideshow requires JavaScript. Larsson came into the HIFK side in 2019 after joining from renowned talent factory KäPa and ended up playing more than I expected. It’s hard to pin down his profile at this point in time, but the playing time suggests that the coaching staff has faith in his ability. In many ways he resembles Joel Mattsson in that he was played a lot for his age while the statistics struggle to pick up what he’s good at. Will hopefully take another step forward next season.
29 (25)	Daniel Rantanen	21	EIF	1929	MC
Rantanen has floated around the top two tiers for a couple of years now, and although not much has changed – he’s still one of the most active shooters from central midfield – this season feels like a breakthrough of sorts, even if it’s only at Ykkönen level. In previous seasons, though, it’s been all volume and very little end product to show for it. This season, he has been a genuine attacking force for EIF – even if his shotmap is littered with hit-and-hopes. Although the range of his passing (and to an extent his shooting) is a key strength of his, he is also capable of carrying the ball forward from midfield, which can be a valuable asset. Looking at his key passes, a notable trend is the long diagonal looking for Akseli Ollila, which was a prominent weapon for EIF in 2019. So what does the future hold? His contract is up, and a forward thinking Veikkausliiga team in need of an offensive midfielder might find the thought enticing. This slideshow requires JavaScript.
30 (24)	Teemu Jäntti	19	Lahti	980	MC
As I’ve written before, I kind of like the hypothetical balance of attributes that a Jäntti-Virta central midfield partnership would consist of. Jäntti is more of an energetic box-to-box shuttler type while Virta is more of a sitting midfielder who can distribute from the base. With Assehnoun on the left and Zeqiri on the right and a young new coach… are Lahti starting to look like a pretty interesting team to follow in 2020?
31 (N/A)	Joel Mattsson	20	HIFK	2018	AM
Last time around, I dropped Mattsson due to not quite being able to figure out what kind of player he is. I’ve done it before, for roughly similar reasons. The thing is, though, that he’s played a lot this season, which means that two coaches has considered him promising enough to give him the time of day, and that makes me feel like there’s something I’m missing. I can’t figure out what it is, but there must be something? His form did pick up toward the end of the season, and now his contract is up, so next season will be illustrative.
32 (37)	Joonas Sundman	21	SJK	1353	LB
Sundman is a constant in the U21 national team, and has established himself as a key part of an SJK defense in constant flux. Wins a lot of headers and doesn’t contribute a lot in attack, which isn’t the most enticing profile it must be admitted.
33 (44)	Tiemoko Fofana	20	Ilves	1606	CF
I don’t dislike Tiemoko Fofana – there’s much to like about his game: his versatility, his movement in the box, his hold up ability – it’s just that the statistics aren’t exactly flattering. The fact remains that with the playing time he got, for Ilves to win the title, he would’ve had to accumulate more xG, more goals, more shots.
34 (28)	Evans Mensah	21	HJK	1434	RW
Will HJK decline their club option for Evans Mensah? For some reason, even if he has been really good at times, it still doesn’t feel like there’s a consistent place for him at HJK. He has the individual ability to be dominant, and he has been a consistent goalscorer from the wing, but other options still seem to preferred to him whenever possible. An enigma.
35 (29)	Niklas Jokelainen	19	RoPS	787	CF
Jokelainen’s playing time dried up toward the end of the season, but what came before that seemed promising enough. If I’d have to think of a non-obvious candidate to do a Rasmus Karjalainen, he’d be pretty far up on the list.
36 (30)	Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan	20	RoPS (HJK)	839	LW
Kouassivi-Benissan’s loan to RoPS was a good idea that came a little too late. It would probably have been better for both player and receiving team if he could have spent a full season there. I still think he’s more of a winger, or a wing back in a system where he would be allowed to attack more and worry less about his defence. Should have another year on his HJK contract, and should have a better chance of breaking through under Koskela.
37 (32)	Mehdi El-Moutacim	19	EIF	2469	GK
The problem with being a young goalkeeper is that it’s the one position on the pitch where experience is considered the most important, and all of the league minutes are basically divided between 12 players. El-Moutacim doesn’t play in the league but he has accumulated a lot of Ykkönen minutes already for a player his age and has done reasonably well. He plays with a lot of confidence, which is something that is exceptionally good for a goalkepeer, but which can lead to some problematic issues in his day-to-day work, mostly in his passing. His largest medium term problem is that he’s going to start to get minutes at a higher level soon, and for that to happen he’s going to have to convince a team that he’s good enough to be a number one, get promoted with EIF, or move abroad. It’s a rocky road either way with no clear best case solution.
38 (33)	Mauro Severino	20	TPV	758	RW
Severino is a productive attacker, probably even at Veikkausliiga level. Getting relegated from Ykkönen isn’t exactly great for his reputation – nor is changing teams three times before you turn 20 – but an opportunistic side should definitely look to pounce.
39 (N/A)	Tuukka Kurki	20	KTP	943	FW
The answer to who was 11th in xG per 90 for both leagues this season. Kurki looked excellent in flashes for HIFK last season and only started to get into the KTP team once Kalle Multanen moved to Italy. I like him, and I hope to see more of him next season.
40 (N/A)	John Fagerström	21	EIF	1119	FW
The answer to who was 10th in xG per 90 for both leagues this season. He looked a good fit for EIF as a lone front man, with good hold up play and a poacher’s instinct after struggling for Haka in 2018 as a winger. I like the profile, but does he have another level in him?
41 (31)	Martti Haukioja	19	VPS	1408	LB
Haukioja has an… interesting profile for a full back, in that he scores fairly profile in most defensive categories but played a tonne of passes into the box and added a good amount of xA. Is that a good recipe for a team that got relegated? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a player of his pedigree would be picked up by a Veikkausliiga team before the season starts.
42 (34)	Omar Jama	21	EIF	2155	MC
Jama is a neat player – he can carry the ball forward, and pass it at a good rate, but he has some defensive limitations and offers marginal creativity. He’s pretty young though, and has played quite a lot, but time is running out for him to realize his potential.
43 (40)	Maximo Tolonen	18	SJK	570	AMC
Jani Honkavaara has a decent reputation as a developer of players, and Tolonen will be hopeful that some of that magic will rub off on him. At times this season, he’d be SJK’s most progressive, positive player, then he’d get subbed early for some reason. At times, I get doubtful about his ability, but then I look up his stats from Ykkönen in his age 16 season, and I’m reminded of what a precocious talent we’re talking about. He has suffered from the turbulence at SJK more than probably anyone and might be the one player to benefit most if they can find some stability.
44 (36)	Ville Tikkanen	20	SJK	581	CB
Something of a lost season for Tikkanen, although he did manage to get back on the pitch toward the end. If history is to be believed, he’ll have enough defending to do under Honkavaara, so at least he’ll get a chance to show what he’s got.
45 (46)	Joonas Lakkamäki	17	MuSa	1298	RB
An impressive enough debut season for Lakkamäki. He scored in the 90th percentile for interceptions while dribbling a fair bit and tackling more than average for a fullback.
46 (33)	Tuomas Ollila	19	KTP	1588	LB
Ollila will always struggle because of his size; there will always be a big enough reason why his defence doesn’t match up, that practically all that he does in attack will feel insufficient. He is a good attacking fullback/wingback, though, he just needs a team that doesn’t care as much about his weakness in the air.
47 (49)	Rony Huhtala	21	MyPa	1672	CF
I like Huhtala, that much should be clear, and he saw a serious upturn in form toward the end of the season (which was largely fuelled by penalty goals, it must be said [even if he won a large amount of the penalties himself]). Stats like Kurki and Fagerström more, but the three of them should interest teams in the league looking to add depth to their attacks.
48 (43)	Momodou Sarr	19	VPS	1857	CF/RW
Sarr ticks a fair few boxes, to be honest: he is very selective with his shooting, he is young, he’s played a lot. It’s just that he took under one shot per 90 in 2019, and didn’t exactly look convincing as VPS floundered. Playing a season at Ykkönen level might be just what he needs.
49 (47)	Teppo Marttinen	22	KPV	2184	GK
Marttinen ended up relegated after a full season as KPV’s number one. He hasn’t always looked convincing, but he’s only 22 and few goalkeepers do at that age. With KPV signing Miika Töyräs, it’s fair to say that Marttinen might be on the lookout for another contract at Veikkausliiga level, although taking the Carljohan Eriksson route abroad could be a good alternative if the opportunity arises.
50 (42)	Johannes Kytilä	19	MyPa	2419	CB
Apart from Katz and Valtteri Vesiaho, Kytilä was one of last season’s Klubi 04’s most played center halves. He played a dramatic part in securing another season of Ykkönen football for MyPa and has essentially played all of the available minutes this season. Look at that majestic little dot!

Players listed previously in 2019: Mikko Kuningas, Diogo Tomas, Simon Lindholm, Tuukka Andberg, Joakim Latonen, Sampo Ala, Niilo Mäenpää, Tommi Jäntti, Alexander Jibrin, Paavo Voutilainen, Jonas Häkkinen, Anton Eerola, Antti Ulmanen, Matias Lahti, Juhani Pikkarainen, Samu Alanko, Nuutti Laaksonen, Nikolas Saira.

Thanks for reading the series in 2019, I’ll be back with another edition next season. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter for more Finnish football content!