Teemu Pukki was born in Kotka on 29 March 1990 (age 36), and his early career already had one useful marker: he scored on debut during a spell away from his parent club. That sort of thing does not settle a career, but it tends to keep a young striker in the conversation.
Celtic signed him from Schalke 04 in August 2013 for around ยฃ3m. It was a move that made sense on paper: a Finland international forward arriving from a major German club at an age where there should still have been room to grow. In practice, his time in Glasgow never properly caught. He left in July 2015 for Brondby, the fee around ยฃ600,000.
Brondby became the bridge to the more settled part of his career. After Celtic, he needed more than occasional flashes, and Denmark gave him the platform to move on again with a clearer identity as a striker. His most productive league season came later at Norwich City in 2018-19, when he scored 29 goals in 43 appearances.
He later had a spell with Minnesota United and is now with HJK, primarily as a striker. In 2026, he has made 12 Veikkausliiga appearances and scored three goals. His career has taken in Germany, Scotland, Denmark, England, the United States and Finland, with Celtic an important but uneven chapter rather than the one that settled him.
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