If a report from Football Scotland is believed to be true, Celtic have struck a deal with Aston Villa for Viljami Sinisalo. The young custodian is expected to complete his medical in the coming days and the announcement might even take place before their trip to the USA for the pre-season preparations.
The 22-year-old Finland international progressed through HyPS, HJK, Honka and Espoo ranks before making his senior debut for the latter in the lower division of Finnish football. He joined Villa’s academy in 2018 and featured regularly for the U18s and U23s. Sinisalo experienced the grind and demands of the Scottish game when he joined second-tier Ayr United on a season-long loan. His experience with Burton Albion was unexciting but the spell with Exeter City catapulted him into the limelight.
Sinisalo made 50 appearances last season for the League One side. His emergence did not go unnoticed as the Bhoys agreed on a fee of around £1m with Villa following successful negotiations over the weekend. The Lions have Emiliano Martinez who is irreplaceable between the sticks, also, the likes of Robin Olsen and Joe Gauci remain preferred alternatives considering their senior international experience with Sweden and Australia respectively.
Celtic Have Played Smart To Tie Down The Youngster
Celtic have been in the market for a new ‘number 1’ to replace Joe Hart in the last line of defence. The Three Lions legend called it a day at the closure of the previous campaign and the Glasgow giants reacted by roping in veteran Kasper Schmeichel on a Bosman as a like-for-like replacement.
While the 37-year-old Denmark keeper should feature in goal for a season or two, Sinisalo is more of a project signing who could replace the Dane in the long run. Despite impressing on loan, he is way down the pecking order at Villa Park. With his contract set to expire next year, the Celts had little trouble securing his services for a minuscule amount.
The Hoops also have Scott Bain who spent years as the understudy to Craig Gordon, Fraser Forster and Hart. He had some regular minutes during Vasilis Barkas’ disappointing days, but the Scotsman has never been considered the first choice since joining from Dundee in 2018. Moreover, Benjamin Siegrist does not belong to Rodgers’ plans with no involvement throughout the 2023-24 season. Sinisalo should grab the ‘number 2’ role and the Northern Irish boss might hand him minutes in the initial rounds of the Cup outings.
