Star is reborn as free-scoring Pukki puts Celtic travails behind him

● Norwich now bringing out best in Finn ● Scotland could face striker in play-off

Teemu Pukki is a hard name to forget but that’s what many in Scottish football have done since he left Celtic as a flop in 2014. Yet the Finn could stand between Scotland and their bid to end a 22-year exile from major tournaments by qualifying for Euro 2020.

In the summer of 2013 Celtic fans watched as favourites Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper left for sizeable fees. The latter had just hit 31 goals, taking his tally to 82 goals in 138 appearances.

With Anthony Stokes, Georgios Samaras and Kris Commons capable of stepping up, there needn’t have been an excess of pressure on a new striker. However, Celtic parted with around £3million for Finnish hitman Pukki, brought in from German giants Schalke 04 on a fouryear deal. Understandably, fans and then manager Neil Lennon had both excitement and expectation.

Those expectations only rose when he nodded in against Hearts on his debut, followed by a goal in his second league appearance. Baby-faced and busy, there were hopes for the forward who had developed during a spell in Spain with Sevilla. However, he failed to score again until December before finishing the season on seven goals. He stayed with the club during pre-season under fellow Scandinavian Ronny Deila, even netting a double in a Champions League qualifier against KR Reyjkavik. By the end of the transfer window he was on loan at Danish side Brondby.

There are a number of theories as to why it didn’t work out. While he was clearly a talented footballer, it was unclear what type of forward he was. Pukki had even been compared to Finnish legend Jari Litmanen ahead of his move to Sevilla. The only trait they seemed to share was their nationality. Plus Celtic already had Commons.

Both Lennon and the player’s agent have spoken of chinks in his mentality on and off the pitch, while the current Hibs boss also saw an individual who had difficulty finding his place at Celtic and in Glasgow.

Speaking in 2016, the Northern Irishman said: “He’s not the first person to come to Glasgow and not hit the ground running.

“He is a quiet boy. He had a few injury problems as well and at a club like Celtic, when you’re brought in for money, you have to score goals. And he wasn’t really an out-and-out goalscorer. He played within himself a little bit, I thought.

“He’s very quiet. I don’t know if it was too big for him because he had been at Sevilla and at Schalke, so he had been at big clubs.”

Four seasons at Brondby have since worked wonders for Pukki, who has knuckled down and built himself back up slowly.

His agent told the Norwich Evening News: “He runs more. He struggles more, he tackles more, he is in better physical condition and capable of more intense spurts. The whole starting point for the way he plays is different. The Danish league was kind of a step backward, but it had to be done. Something had to change, and Teemu realised that was the case.”

Two seasons of regular football and 26 goals were the perfect platform for the 20162017 campaign where he hit 29 goals, including a hat-trick against Hertha Berlin. Pukki had ambitions to make a jump to a new level, so opted against penning a new deal, netting 19 times in his final season at Brondby. He had a number of potential suitors in the summer but Norwich City won the battle.

The Finn is already being talked about as the signing of the season in the Championship. He has netted ten goals in all competitions for the league leaders and returned from missing three Championship fixtures to hit back-toback doubles.

Pukki has translated his scoring to the international stage with the forward hitting the goals in three 1-0 wins as Finland 2 Teemu Pukki battles for possession during a 2014 clash with Hearts. The Finn scored Celtic’s second goal in a 2-0 win but failed to match up to expectations in Scotland. topped their Uefa Nations League group to set up a potential play-off with Scotland to reach Euro 2020.

He can now be deemed a striker. The one Celtic were looking for to replace Hooper. He has continued to make improvements to his game and now provides Norwich with runs in behind, off the shoulder of defenders. Canaries boss Daniel Farke describes him as “a technical player with really smart movements”.