Viljami Sinisalo made the move to Celtic from Aston Villa in July, after spending six years in the Midlands club’s system.
Despite his progress, the 22-year-old goalkeeper saw no clear path to the first team under manager Unai Emery or in the plans of the club’s sporting director, Monchi.
As a result, both parties agreed it was time for him to seek opportunities elsewhere, leading to his arrival in Glasgow.
Since joining the Scottish Premiership champions, Sinisalo has been settling in well. He was named on the bench for Celtic’s emphatic 3-0 victory over Rangers in the recent Old Firm derby, an experience that left a lasting impact on the young Finn.
Speaking to Finnish media outlet MTV Uutiset, Sinisalo shared his thoughts on the occasion, describing the intensity of the atmosphere and the passion of the Celtic supporters.
“A completely crazy match,” Sinisalo said. “I’ve never experienced anything like when You’ll Never Walk Alone came on before the game and a crowd of 60,000 sang it. Celtic’s finesse is in the supporter culture and the default value that only winning is good.”
It was a memorable introduction to the Old Firm rivalry, and one that has clearly solidified Sinisalo’s belief that he made the right decision in joining Celtic.
According to MTV Uutiset, Sinisalo had several other options this summer, with a number of clubs interested in securing his services. However, the decision to head to Glasgow was an easy one for the young keeper.
“All I’m saying, when Celtic was a concrete option, you didn’t have to think about it many times,” Sinisalo explained. “We are talking about one of the biggest football clubs in the world, and such an opportunity does not come up many times in a career, if ever.”
He continued by alluding to the career plan Celtic have mapped out for him. It is this detailed pathway that convinced him that Celtic was the ideal move, despite competition from other clubs.
“After the way those five years were described to me, it would have been stupid not to get involved,” he said.
Sinisalo is confident he has a bright future ahead at Celtic and believes he is being lined up as the long-term successor to Kasper Schmeichel, who joined the club on a one-year deal. He outlined his ambition to become Celtic’s first-choice goalkeeper in the near future.
“The pattern is pretty much as simple as it looks,” he said. “Even at the age of 38, Kasper is still a top goalkeeper, who signed a one-year contract, which seems to include the club’s option for an additional year, but the plan is very far on that I will be Celtic’s future number one. I have to be ready for that.”
Sinisalo is realistic about his current position within the squad, acknowledging that he won’t immediately become Celtic’s starting goalkeeper. However, he is determined to work his way up and is targeting the 2025-26 season as his time to fully take over the number one spot.
“You have to be realistic. You don’t jump directly from League One to become Celtic’s starting goalkeeper, but I already know that this season the responsibility is coming,” he said.
“Certainly even more next season. If I’m Celtic’s number one keeper at the age of 24-25, I’ve succeeded in my plan, and after that we’ll talk about a little bigger things.”
Reflecting on his early days at the club, Sinisalo couldn’t help but express his delight at Celtic’s recent triumph over Rangers. “The beginning has been great. And best of all, we took a big derby win at the weekend.”
Clearly, Celtic’s newest signing is relishing the challenge ahead.