Leo Walta (born 24 June 2003) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for MLS club Los Angeles FC on loan from EFL Championship club Swansea City and the Finland national team.
Club career Walta's first football club was of Pakkala, Vantaa, where he played his first youth years.
HJK Helsinki Walta joined HJK Helsinki youth sector when he was eight years old. 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.Flere storklubber interesseret i 14-årig Allan Simonsen-type , tv3sport.dk, 6 April 2018 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.
FC Nordsjælland In September 2019 it was announced, that FC Nordsjælland had bought 16-year old Walta from HJK Helsinki for "a significant transfer amount".FC Nordsjælland handler: Henter finsk teenager for "betydeligt beløb", tipsbladet.dk, 2 September 2019 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.LEO WALTA FORLÆNGER OG RYKKER OP I SUPERLIGA-TRUPPEN , fcn.dk, 14 July 2021 Four days later, on 18 July 2021, Walta got his professional debut for Nordsjælland against Viborg FF in the Danish Superliga.NORDSJÆLLAND VS. VIBORG 1 - 2, soccerway.com, 18 July 2021
HB Køge (loan) 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.Leo Walta ny mand i HB Køge, hbkoge.dk, 31 January 2023
Mjällby AIF (loan) After returning to Nordsjælland, he was sent out on loan again, this time to Allsvenskan club Mjällby AIF until the end of the 2023 season.Välkommen till Mjällby AIF – Leo Walta, maif.se, 1 August 2023 On 18 September 2023, Walta scored his first goals in Allsvenskan by a brace against IFK Norrköping away, helping his side to take a 2–0 win.Leo Walta gjorde sina två första mål i allsvenskan – ledde Mjällby till bortaseger över IFK Norrköping, Svenska Yle, 19 September 2023Två mål av Leo Walta - Norrköping buades ut på hemmaplan, fotbollskanalen.se, 18 September 2023 After the season, Mjällby were interested in signing with Walta on a permanent contract, but Nordsjælland's asking price of €1.3 million was too high for them. It was also reported that there were several interested clubs in Eredivisie.MTV Urheilun tiedot: Ruotsalaisseura haluaa Suomen huippulupauksen – kuuma nimi myös Hollannissa, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 5 March 2024
IK Sirius On 8 March 2024, Walta joined Allsvenskan side Sirius on a deal until 30 June 2028 for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be €1.25 million.Leo Walta klar för Sirius Fotboll, siriusfotboll.se, 8 March 2024MTV Urheilun tiedot: Ruotsalaisseura haluaa Suomen huippulupauksen – kuuma nimi myös Hollannissa, MTV Oy/ mtvuutiset.fi, Eetu Ikola, 5 March 2024 During his first season with Sirius, Walta made 29 appearances in Allsvenskan scoring seven goals and providing three assists.Ruotsin Allsvenskanissa maaleja tehtaileva Leo Walta osui jälleen, Yle, 6 October 2024 In November, Walta was listed in the 13th place of the top50 2024 Allsvenskan players by the Aftonbladet.Jätterankning: 50 bästa spelarna i allsvenskan 2024, Aftonbladet
On 5 October 2025, Walta scored a brace and provided an assist as Sirius won Malmö FF 5–1 at home.Leo Walta dominoi jälleen Ruotsissa – ei mahtunut vielä kuukausi sitten Huuhkajiin, atleetti.fi, 5 October 2025Katso: Leo Walta iski kaksi maalia Malmön verkkoon Allsvenskanissa, suomifutis.com, 5 October 2025 On 26 October, he scored two goals and provided an assist again as Sirius won IF Elfsborg 4–0, marking his 14th and 15th goals of the season and making it the Sirius single-season goal scoring record in Allsvenskan.Leo Walta teki seuransa yhden kauden maaliennätyksen Ruotsissa, Helsingin Sanomat, 26 October 2025
Swansea City On 2 February 2026, Walta joined Welsh side Swansea City A.F.C. on a loan until the end of the 2026 season which will then move to a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be €3.5 million.Miljoonakauppa! Huuhkajien tähti siirtyy Britanniaan, Ilta-Sanomat, 31 January 2026 On 2 May 2026, Walta scored his first goal for the club; a free kick which went in off the post in a 3–1 win against Charlton Athletic. On 1 July 2026, Swansea signed him permanently on a three-year contract.
International career Walta is a regular youth international, and has represented Finland at various youth national team levels.
On 4 June 2024, Walta made his senior national team debut for Finland, in a 4–2 friendly defeat against Portugal.Teemu Pukin maalit Huuhkajien ilonaihe, Portugali täysin ylivoimainen, Yle, 4 June 2024
Walta also made six appearances and scored one goal for the Finland U21 in the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign, helping them to qualify for the final tournament for the second time in the nation's history by defeating Norway in the play-offs. However, Walta missed the tournament in June 2025 due to suffering from mononucleosis, and was replaced by Doni Arifi.Leo Walta sivuun U21-EM-kisoista – tilalle Doni Arifi, Football Association of Finland, 7 June 2025
Personal life His younger sister Ilona (born 2006) is also a professional footballer.Ilona Walta kertoo pelaajatarinansa: ”Rakkaus lajiin syntyi jo ennen sen aloittamista”, hjk.fi, 14 June 2023
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKlubi 042019Kakkonen6000——60Nordsjælland2021–22Danish Superliga14020——1602022–23Danish Superliga5020——70Total190400000230HB Køge (loan)2022–23Danish 1st Division14300——143Mjällby (loan)2023Allsvenskan11210——122Sirius2024Allsvenskan29710——3072025Allsvenskan301631——3317Total59234100006324Swansea City (loan)2025–26Championship101———101Career total1192991000012931
International
National teamYearCompetitiveFriendlyTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFinland20244Appearances in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B.0206020253Appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.0114120263Appearances in the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League C.44Includes two appearances in the 2026 FIFA Series.074Total10471175
Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Walta goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Leo WaltaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 17 November 2025 Tammelan Stadion, Tampere, Finland 4–04–0 Friendly2 26 September 2026 San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino 4–0 7–0 2026–27 UEFA Nations League C3 5–0 4 3 October 2026 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland 1–1 2–1 5 2–1
Honours Finland FIFA Series: 2026
Individual Football Association of Finland: Young Player of the Year 2021Kaikki Captain's Ballissa 2021 jaetut palkinnot
References
External links