Saku Ylätupa (born 4 August 1999) is a Finnish footballer who plays for Veikkausliiga club IF Gnistan. A pacy two-footed Finland international, he prefers to play as an attacking midfielder, but he can also play as a central midfielder, winger or centre-forward.
Early career Born in Espoo in 1999, Ylätupa started his football career in a youth team of a local club FC Espoo, before joining HJK youth sector. Ylätupa played in Klubi-04, the reserve team of HJK.
Club career HJK In 2016, Ylätupa was called up for HJK first team. On 2 April 2016, Ylätupa made his senior debut in Finnish League Cup against FC Lahti at Talin jalkapallohalli, playing the game as a starting line-up during 46 minutes.
Ajax On 21 July 2017, it was announced that the midfielder had signed a three-year contract with Dutch side AFC Ajax.
GIF Sundsvall On 10 January 2022, Ylätupa signed a three-year contract with GIF Sundsvall in Allsvenskan for a €125.000 transfer fee.
Kalmar FF Following Sundsvall's relegation to the Superettan, on 16 January 2023 Ylätupa officially joined fellow Swedish side Kalmar FF for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract with the club.
FC Helsingør (loan) On 5 January 2024, he was sent on loan to Danish club Helsingør for the rest of the 2023–24 season.FC Helsingør låner kantspiller i Kalmar FF, fchelsingor.dk, 5 January 2024Officiellt: FC Helsingör lånar Saku Ylätupa, fotbolltransfers.com, 5 January 2024 At the end of the 2023–24 season, which ended with relegation to the Danish 2nd Division for Helsingør, Ylätupa left the club and returned to Kalmar.FC Helsingør faldt sammen med til tider pinligt spil i sidste hjemmekamp før nedrykning: - Jeg mislykkedes, helsingordagblad.dk, 26 May 2024
International career He made his debut in the Finland national football team on 8 January 2019 in a friendly against Sweden, as a 68th-minute substitute for Lassi Lappalainen.
Career statistics Club
ClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKlubi 042015Kakkonen14500——1452016Kakkonen161200——1612Total301700——3017HJK2016Veikkausliiga00213000512017Veikkausliiga0030000030Total0051300081RoPS (loan)2017Veikkausliiga1730000—173Jong Ajax2018–19Eerste Divisie4100——41AIK2019Allsvenskan6050—001102020Allsvenskan7052——1222021Allsvenskan11131——142Total241133—00374IFK Mariehamn (loan)2020Veikkausliiga800000—80GIF Sundsvall2022Allsvenskan27510––285Kalmar2023Allsvenskan4020–00602024Allsvenskan8011––912025Superettan7231––103Total192620000254Helsingør (loan)2023–24Danish 1st Division80–––80Career total13628251300016434
International
FinlandYearAppsGoals201920202000202100202200202310Total30
References
External links