Leo Walta

Leo Walta (born 24 June 2003) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for HB Køge, on loan from Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland.

Leo Walta
Personal information
Full name Leo Walta
Date of birth (2003-06-24) 24 June 2003
Place of birth Vantaa, Finland
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 HB Køge
(on loan from Nordsjælland)
Youth career
HJK Helsinki
2019–2021 Nordsjælland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Klubi 04 6 (0)
2021– Nordsjælland 19 (0)
2023– → HB Køge (loan) 13 (3)
International career‡
2018 Finland U-15
2019 Finland U-16 3 (1)
2019–2020 Finland U-17 12 (3)
2022– Finland U-19 3 (0)
2021– Finland U-21 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2023 (UTC)

Club career

HJK Helsinki

Walta started at HJK Helsinki when he was eight years old.[1] Walta was a very attractive player during his youth years at HJK, where it led to several trials in, among others, German clubs TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich, and also at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.[2] However, he couldn't move abroad until he was 16 years old, according to FIFA rules.

Therefore, he stayed at HJK and at the age of 15 in May 2019, started playing for HJK's reserve team, Klubi 04, in the Finnish third division, Kakkonen.[3]

FC Nordsjælland

In September 2019 it announced, that FC Nordsjælland had bought 16-year old Walta from HJK Helsinki for "a significant transfer amount".[1] In his first season at the club, he mostly played for the U-17 team, but also made seven appearances and scored two goals for the U-19s, while he also made his reserve team debut in November 2019.

In the 2020-21 season, Walta became a key player for Nordsjælland's U19s, where he played 23 league games and scored six goals. At the end of the season, on 14 July 2021, Nordsjælland confirmed, that Walta had signed a new deal with the club and had been promoted to the first team squad.[4] Four days later, on 18 July 2021, Walta got his professional debut for Nordsjælland against Viborg FF in the Danish Superliga.[5]

On transfer deadline day, 31 January 2023, HB Køge confirmed that Walta had joined the club on a loan deal for the remainder of the season.[6]

References
  1. FC Nordsjælland handler: Henter finsk teenager for "betydeligt beløb", tipsbladet.dk, 2 September 2019
  2. Flere storklubber interesseret i 14-årig Allan Simonsen-type, tv3sport.dk, 6 April 2018
  3. Leo Walta at Soccerway
  4. LEO WALTA FORLÆNGER OG RYKKER OP I SUPERLIGA-TRUPPEN, fcn.dk, 14 July 2021
  5. NORDSJÆLLAND VS. VIBORG 1 - 2, soccerway.com, 18 July 2021
  6. Leo Walta ny mand i HB Køge, hbkoge.dk, 31 January 2023
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