Kasper Paananen

Kasper Paananen
Personal information
Full name Kasper Vili Valtteri Paananen
Date of birth (2003-03-16) 16 March 2003
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Position(s) Midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
 SJK
Number 31
Youth career
OLS
–2016 ORPa
2017 OTP
2018–2019 OLS
2019–2023 Bologna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023 SJK II 26 (8)
2023– SJK 35 (12)
International career‡
2018–2019 Finland U16 9 (7)
2019 Finland U17 6 (1)
2021 Finland U19 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 May 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 October 2023

Kasper Vili Valtteri Paananen (born 16 March 2003) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for Veikkausliiga club SJK Seinäjoki.

Career

Paananen was born in Helsinki but moved to Oulu with his family at an early age. He played for OLS, OPS, Oulun Rotuaarin Pallo and OTP in his youth years, before he moved to Italy in 2019 and signed with Bologna organisation.[1] Paananen spent four years in Italy,[2][3] played 61 matches, and scored 20 goals in total for the youth academy teams of Bologna, before leaving in 2023.

He spent time with AIK, Trelleborgs FF, and played one match for Honka in Finnish League Cup, before signing with SJK Seinäjoki.[4][5] He was first registered to the club's academy squad SJK Akatemia, playing in the second tier Ykkönen. For the next 2024 Veikkausliiga season, Paananen was promoted to the first team. In his first season in the league, Paananen made 28 appearances and scored eight goals. He started the 2025 season strong and scored four goals in the first four matches, helping SJK to start the season with the club's record-breaking four consecutive wins.[6] Paananen was named the Veikkausliiga Player of the Month for April 2025.[7]

Personal life

His younger brother Julius Paananen is also a professional football player for AC Oulu.[8] The former professional ice hockey player Jari Viuhkola is his maternal uncle.

Career statistics

As of 5 May 2025[9]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Honka 2023 Veikkausliiga 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
SJK Akatemia 2023 Ykkönen 26 8 – – – 26 8
SJK 2023 Veikkausliiga 1 0 1 0 0 0 – 2 0
2024 Veikkausliiga 28 8 6 3 4 1 – 38 12
2025 Veikkausliiga 6 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 10 4
Total 35 12 7 3 8 1 0 0 50 16
Career total 61 20 7 3 9 1 0 0 77 24
  1. ^ Includes Suomen Cup

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ 16-vuotias futislahjakkuus Kasper Paananen siirtyy Italian pääsarjaseuraan, Ilta-Sanomat, Janne Oivio, 19 August 2019
  2. ^ Futislupaus Kasper Paananen, 17, oli jäädä loukkuun liki Italian koronapesäkettä – passi oli Suomessa: ”Kieltämättä aika hermostunut”, Ilta-Sanomat, Tatu Myllykoski, 23 March 2020
  3. ^ Bolognesea Kasper Paanasen tapaan - 17-vuotiaalla hyökkääjälupauksella takanaan ensimmäinen vuosi Bolognan akatemiassa, Lapin Kansa, Kai Nevala, 26 May 2020
  4. ^ Kasper Paananen Kerhon riveihin, SJK, 17 March 2023
  5. ^ Suomalainen huippulupaus testille Ruotsin suurseuraan – viettänyt viime vuodet Italiassa, suomifutis.com, Ville Liimatta, 16 January 2023
  6. ^ Kommentti: Tässä on Veikkausliigan alkukauden sensaatio, Ilta-Sanomat, 24 April 2024
  7. ^ a b SJK:n Kasper Paananen Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja huhtikuussa, Veikkaus, 5 May 2025
  8. ^ Suomalainen jalkapallolupaus lähellä ammattilaissopimusta: "Olen saanut treenata sellaisten äijien kanssa, joilla olen pelannut itse Fifaa pleikkarilla", Yle, 10 May 2020
  9. ^ Kasper Paananen, Football Association of Finland
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.