Topi Keskinen

Topi Keskinen (born 7 March 2003) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Veikkausliiga club HJK, and the Finland under-21 national team. Keskinen is known for his pace and dribbling.

Early life
Keskinen was born in Espoo, but soon after his family moved to Mikkeli in Eastern Finland. He started to play football in the youth sector of the local club Mikkelin Palloilijat (MP).

MP
He made his senior debut with MP first team in 2019, when the club played in third-tier level Kakkonen. The club won a promotion, and Keskinen signed a three-year deal with MP. He was named in the first team squad for the 2020 Ykkönen season, in Finland's second tier. In 2020, he also played briefly for the associate farm club Savilahden Urheilijat (SavU) in the fourth tier Kolmonen.

He finished the 2022 Ykkönen season scoring 10 goals and providing six assists for his team in the division.

HJK Helsinki
Keskinen signed a three-year deal with Finnish champions HJK on 23 November 2022, ahead of the 2023 Veikkausliiga season. On 8 February 2023, Keskinen scored four goals in his second competitive game for the club, in a 5–2 Finnish League Cup win over FC Lahti.

He scored his first Veikkausliiga goal on 5 May 2023, in 2–1 away loss to KuPS. Keskinen also scored the winning goal, as HJK defeated Molde FK 1–0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League 2nd qualifying round, on 25 July 2023. He played in all 14 matches in the HJK's 2023–24 European campaign, in which HJK qualified to the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.

In the end of the 2023 season, Keskinen won his first Finnish championship title with HJK, which was the fourth championship of HJK in a row. He was named The Player of the Year by the supporters of the club, and the Rookie of the Year in Veikkausliiga. Keskinen finished his first season in the league scoring twice and providing eight assists in 25 matches.

Keskinen started the 2024 season effectively scoring four goals and providing one assist in the first four matches of the season.

International career
Keskinen has represented Finland at under-19 and under-21 youth national team levels.

In March 2022, Keskinen was callep up to Finland youth national team for the first time, when he was named in the Finland U19 squad for the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification Elite round games against Belgium, Italy and Germany. He made his youth national team debut on 23 March 2022 against Belgium, scoring a goal in the game.

He made his first appearance for the Finland under-21 national team on 7 June 2022, in a 3–0 home win against Azerbaijan. On 21 November 2023, Keskinen scored a brace for Finland U21 team, in a 6–0 home win against Armenia.

Personal life
Keskinen is a devoted Manchester United supporter, and has named Wayne Rooney his idol in football. He has a tattoo of fishing Wayne Rooney in his forearm.

HJK

 * Veikkausliiga: 2023
 * Finnish League Cup: 2023

Individual

 * Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2023
 * Veikkausliiga Rookie of the Year: 2023
 * Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: April 2024