Joel Pohjanpalo ended his long career at Bundesliga club Leverkusen and starts a new era in Italy, in the ranks of Venezia FC.
Joel Pohjanpalo, 27, moves from Leverkusen to Venezia, which plays in Italy’s Serie B. The Finnish striker arrived in Italy on Friday and he will already be playing for Venezia on Sunday.
Pohjanpalo signed a three-year contract with an option for two additional seasons.
Pohjanpalo did not get too much responsibility in Leverkusen, where he played in only 23 games in the last seven seasons. He scored seven goals in them.
– We are very grateful to Joel for his commitment over the last few years. He always fully identified with Bayer 04, says Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes. We wish Joel the success he deserves in Italy.
According to various sources, his transfer amount is 2.5 million euros, which can rise to 3.2 million after bonuses.
Venezia reminds on its website that Pohjanpalo scored 16 goals in the 33 matches it played last season in the Turkish premier league, Rizespor. In addition, “Danger” has hit the shirt of the Finnish A national team 13 times.
In addition to Pohjanpalo, two Finnish goalkeepers play in Venezia, which dropped down from Serie A last season Jesse Joronen and Niki Mäenpää.
Venezia lost their home game to Genoa 1–2 in the series opener. Next Sunday evening, August 21, Venezia will travel to Südtirol at 21:45.