Viljami Sinisalo once named new Celtic teammate as his footballing idol

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic fans have two new goalkeepers to get excited about after Viljami Sinisalo and Kasper Schmeichel joined the club this week.

Finnish stopper Sinisalo has already been training with his new teammates after joining from Aston Villa for a fee of £1 million.

Explaining his excitement to get going at Celtic, he stated: “It’s been on the cards for a little while and it’s nice to get it done. It feels amazing. It’s an opportunity I can’t turn down and it’s something I was looking forward to as soon as I heard of the interest.

“I’ve been told about a project for myself and for the football club and I’m excited to join that.”

Coming in as second in command, he will learn from the experience of Denmark international Kasper Schmeichel after he was announced last night to the excitement of supporters.

In the past few weeks, there has been trepidation about the lack of action to address the goalkeeper position. Nevertheless, Celtic now have two competent stoppers in the building, but there is another interesting fact you may not have been aware of regarding Sinisalo.

Viljami Sinisalo once named Kasper Schmeichel as his idol

There has been a lot of content circulating surrounding both new arrivals this week and supporters will want to see them in action across the Hoops’ pre-season tour of the United States.

However, one minute detail that hasn’t been picked up on as of yet is that Sinisalo has actually referenced Schmeichel as his footballing idol.

Via his profile on Finland’s official national team website, the description reads: “Sinisalo, who moved to England at the age of 17, has worked his way through Finland’s youth national teams and has been part of his team’s leading forces in different age groups. Known as a very social person, Sinisalo names Kasper Schmeichel as his football idol and describes himself as an aggressive goalkeeper.

“The 190 centimeter goalkeeper was invited to the A national team for the first time for the final matches of the autumn 2022 Nations League.”

What a brilliant coincidence! Sinisalo clearly admires Schmeichel’s talents, and they now both get to form part of a goalkeeping bloc with Scott Bain this campaign.

Goalkeepers usually share a mutual respect for their work anyway, but knowing that the Finland international is working alongside someone he rates highly is a significant positive while he develops at Lennoxtown.

In what appears to be a targeted succession plan between the sticks at Celtic, an active blend of experience and youth will be present in training and on matchdays, which can only bode well for the immediate and longer term.