Saku Ylätupa (born 4 August 1999) is a Finnish
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays for
Kalmar FF.
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
Klubi 04 is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. It is the reserve team of Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi for whom a number of the players are also registered.
History
Klubi 04 was founded in 2004 when HJK bought FC Jokerit. Initially 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
Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its h ...
in
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...
for a €125.000 transfer fee.
Kalmar FF
Following Sundsvall's relegation to the
Superettan
Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...
, 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. 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.
International career
He made his debut in the
Finland national football team on 8 January 2019 in a friendly against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, as a 68th-minute substitute for
Lassi Lappalainen
Lassi Lappalainen (born 24 August 1998) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club CF Montréal and the Finland national team.
Club career Early career
Born in Espoo in 1998, Lappalainen started hi ...
.
Career statistics
Club
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ylatupa, Saku
Living people
1999 births
Finnish men's footballers
Finnish expatriate men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Finland men's youth international footballers
Finland men's under-21 international footballers
Finland men's international footballers
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players
FC Espoo players
AFC Ajax players
Jong Ajax players
Rovaniemen Palloseura players
Klubi 04 players
AIK Fotboll players
IFK Mariehamn players
GIF Sundsvall players
Kalmar FF players
FC Helsingør players
Eerste Divisie players
Veikkausliiga players
Allsvenskan players
Danish 1st Division players
Footballers from Espoo
Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden
Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark