Yli-Kokko joins Dundalk on loan from Finnish champions HJK Helsinki

Dundalk have signed attacker Johannes Yli-Kokko on loan from Finnish champions HJK Helsinki.

The 21-year-old is in line to make his debut in Friday's SSE Airtricity League clash with Bohemians at Dalymount Park.

After being promoted to the first-team squad, he made his Veikkausliiga (Premier Division) debut in April 2022 and scored his first goal for HJK three months later against VPS.

Yli-Kokko made 17 Veikkausliiga appearances during HJK's title-winning campaign last year, scoring once and providing four assists. He also made four appearances in Europe, coming on as a substitute in both legs of HJK’s UEFA Champions League second qualifying round defeat to Viktoria Plzeň and their UEFA Europa League third qualifying round win over Maribor.

"Technically, Johannes is a very good, creative player with good energy. He’ll give us added quality coming off the sides and in the attacking areas of midfield," said Dundalk head coach Stephen O’Donnell.

"He has lots of pedigree and I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s mature for his age and he’s looking forward to getting started. It’s a great opportunity for him to gain experience in a different country which was something he was very eager to do.

Yli-Kokko said: "I only found out about Dundalk’s interest four or five days ago and now I am here, so everything moved quite quickly!"

"Last year was my first with the HJK first team and it was a great experience for me so I think I’ll be a good addition for Dundalk and I will work hard to try and help the team win.

"The game is more physical here in Ireland and the tempo will be higher than in the Veikkausliiga so I’m sure that will only help me develop even more as a player."