Kai Meriluoto

Kai Meriluoto (born 2 January 2003) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Veikkausliiga club HJK.

Early life
Meriluoto was born in Siuntio, Finland, to a Japanese mother and Finnish father. When he was a one-year-old, he moved to Vienne, Isère, France, with his family and lived there for five years before returning to Finland. Meriluoto lived in China from when he was ten years old until he was twelve years old. He has dual citizenship of Finland and Japan, and he speaks Finnish, Japanese, French and English fluently. Meriluoto has an older brother, Aki, who is also a footballer and plays for US Lesquin at the semi-pro level in France.

Ilves (loan)
On 15 February 2022, Meriluoto joined Veikkausliiga club Ilves on loan for the 2022 season. He finished his first full season in the league scoring ten goals for the team. After the season, he returned to HJK.

Return to HJK
In April 2023, he extended his contract with HJK until the end of 2025.

Stal Mielec (loan)
On 14 July 2023, Meriluoto joined Polish Ekstraklasa side Stal Mielec on a season-long loan, with an option to make the move permanent. He scored his first Ekstraklasa goal on 18 September 2023, a header in a 4–2 home win against Zagłębie Lubin. On 9 December 2023, in a match against Cracovia, Meriluoto made a crucial impact after coming in from the bench, when his team was in a 2–0 losing position. He first scored the 2–1 goal on the 86th minute, and one minute later provided an assist to the equalizer. The game eventually ended in a 2–2 draw. During his loan stint, Meriluoto was mainly used as a late substitute, starting only two of his 23 Ekstraklasa appearances. After the season, he returned to HJK.