Kyllä Keke tiesi Santalan kyvyt
"FOOTBALL: SOME FINN FOR EVERYONE
Jan 20 2005
Scots clubs can pick up bargains
By Neil Cameron
hjk HELSINKI boss Keith Armstrong watched in admiration as the Old Firm snapped up two of Finland's hottest stars from his under his nose.
And the Englishman can't understand why more Scottish clubs don't pilfer one of Europe's most untapped sources of talent.
Tampere United star Henri Scheweleff is midway through a week-long trial at Celtic, while one of Armstrong's own, Jukka Santala, yesterday signed a two year deal with Rangers Armstrong tried twice to sign Scheweleff, only for last season's Young Player of the Year to slip though his fingers. And he couldn't do anything to stop the highly-rated 19-year-old Santala leaving once Rangers boss Alex McLeish became interested.
Armstrong said: 'It doesn't surprise me the Old Firm have looked to Finland for young players but it does surprise me that more clubs haven't followed suit.
'There are a lot of good players here who won't cost the earth and are desperate to progress in their careers. The fact they all speak English is as added bonus.
'Moving from the Finnish league to Celtic or Rangers is a big step but there are a lot of players over here who could move to one of the SPL's smaller clubs - and I mean no disrespect.'
Celtic this week moved to make the most of what Finland has to offer and Armstrong said: 'I tried to sign Henri when he was just 16 and I was manager at FC h*ka but he chose his hometown club of Vaasa instead.
'When he moved to Tampere I moved to hjk and was still interested. What stopped it was the fact hjk like to produce their own players, rather than buying in other Finns.
'A lot of clubs have watched him over the past six months and I could always see why.
'He has a sweet left foot and can play in a wider position because while he's not lightning quick, he has fast feet and really good movement off the ball.
'At the end of last season Tampere played him as a striker and he did surprisingly well.
'Henri's not the biggest - you couldn't compare him to Chris Sutton or John Hartson - but he's a game guy who isn't afraid of anything. He's been chapping on the door of the full national team for a while but it seems you have to move abroad to get into the side.
'If he did sign for Celtic, it would be a fantastic chance for him. I think he's good enough.'
Armstrong also talked up the merits of defender Santala, who did enough in a three-week stint at Murray Park to convince McLeish he is worth a deal.
The hjk boss said: 'Jukka is a huge talent, a boy we were all excited about. Next season was going top be a big one for him at hjk after we drafted him into the first team at the end of the last campaign.
'He did really well but was out of contract and when a club the size of Rangers comes in for you what could I do?
'Jukka is a bit younger than Henri but I hope and believe he can be a success at Rangers. He certainly has the talent to do so.'"
