Talents Calendar 

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After reaching the European Championships in 2021, Finnish football is once again on the decline. In 2024, the national team won just one of ten games and was relegated from the Nations League B without a single point. It now ranks behind smaller football nations like Uzbekistan, Jordan, and Burkina Faso in the FIFA men’s world rankings. But the emergence of Matias Siltanen as a top talent at least provides some hope for a better future. 

The 17-year-old midfielder debuted for Kuopion Palloseura and established himself as a starter in the championship-winning team. He started 19 out of 22 games, and only Jaakko Oksanen had the most minutes in the team. “It was a very good season,” Siltanen said to Transfermarkt. “A wonderful first season as a professional, and I really enjoyed it. We had a very hungry team with a good chemistry.” 

By winning the seventh championship in club history and the first since 2019, KuPS have a slot in next season’s Champions League qualification. It gives Siltanen an opportunity for matches on a bigger pan-European stage if he doesn’t leave the club beforehand. He has already entered the scouting books of some of Europe’s biggest teams. The Finnish outlet Helsingen Sanomat reported that Juventus, Inter Milan, and City Football Group clubs Man City and Girona are interested in the player.

Siltanen’s contract expires on Dec. 31, 2025. According to reports, he is open to a transfer either this wither or in the coming summer. Swedish side Djurgårdens IF have made an offer of €500,000, but it is expected that it will take a seven-figure offer for his club to open negotiations. “My immediate goal is to make the next step in my career and to develop further,” Siltanen said. “My agents worry about the rest.” His market value after the November update increased to €800,000. That makes him one of the most valuable players in the Veikkausliiga.

The teenager believes that his first touch and ability to read the game are his biggest strengths. Siltanen is the playmaker in the KuPS team in a similar style to Toni Kroos. “I am one of those no.6, who want to have the ball, play deep passes, but also like to win one-v-one situations and intercept passes.” These are attributes that have become important in modern football and were underlined even further when Rodri won the Ballon d’Or this season. 

Siltanen is still some way off that level but also feels the hype surrounding him, especially after he made the list of the Guardian’s 60 best talents in the world this October. “It is a big chance,” Siltanen said when asked about the hype. “I am from a football-crazy family,” Siltanen said. “I learned early on to stay normal.” Perhaps it is in the genes; his father, Marko Siltanen, was also a professional footballer.

From December 1 to 24, we introduce new players from different countries born in 2007 and 2008. Area managers, users, and data scouts come into play as experts throughout the series. You can follow all those players by adding them to your TM watchlist.