Leo Walta
Finnish footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leo Walta (born 24 June 2003) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship side Swansea City [1] on loan from Sirius and the Finland national team.
|
Walta with Mjällby in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leo Walta | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Vantaa, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Swansea City (on loan from Sirius) | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pakkalan Palloseura | |||
| –2019 | HJK | ||
| 2019–2021 | Nordsjælland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | Klubi 04 | 6 | (0) |
| 2021–2024 | Nordsjælland | 19 | (0) |
| 2023 | → HB Køge (loan) | 14 | (3) |
| 2023 | → Mjällby (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2024– | Sirius | 59 | (23) |
| 2026– | → Swansea City (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Finland U15 | ||
| 2019 | Finland U16 | 3 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Finland U17 | 12 | (3) |
| 2022 | Finland U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2021–2025 | Finland U21 | 14 | (2) |
| 2024– | Finland | 12 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 March 2026 | |||
Club career
Walta's first football club was Pakkalan Palloseura of Pakkala, Vantaa, where he played his first youth years.
HJK Helsinki
Walta joined HJK Helsinki youth sector when he was eight years old.[2] Walta was a very attractive player during his youth years at HJK, where it led to several trials in, among others, German clubs TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich, and also at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.[3] However, he couldn't move abroad until he was 16 years old, according to FIFA rules.
Therefore, he stayed at HJK and at the age of 15 in May 2019, started playing for HJK's reserve team, Klubi 04, in the Finnish third division, Kakkonen.[4]
FC Nordsjælland
In September 2019 it was announced, that FC Nordsjælland had bought 16-year old Walta from HJK Helsinki for "a significant transfer amount".[2] In his first season at the club, he mostly played for the U-17 team, but also made seven appearances and scored two goals for the U-19s, while he also made his reserve team debut in November 2019.
In the 2020–21 season, Walta became a key player for Nordsjælland's U19s, where he played 23 league games and scored six goals. At the end of the season, on 14 July 2021, Nordsjælland confirmed, that Walta had signed a new deal with the club and had been promoted to the first team squad.[5] Four days later, on 18 July 2021, Walta got his professional debut for Nordsjælland against Viborg FF in the Danish Superliga.[6]
HB Køge (loan)
On transfer deadline day, 31 January 2023, HB Køge confirmed that Walta had joined the club on a loan deal for the remainder of the season.[7]
Mjällby AIF (loan)
After returning to Nordsjælland, he was sent out on loan again, this time to Allsvenskan club Mjällby AIF until the end of the 2023 season.[8] On 18 September 2023, Walta scored his first goals in Allsvenskan by a brace against IFK Norrköping away, helping his side to take a 2–0 win.[9][10] After the season, Mjällby were interested in signing with Walta on a permanent contract, but Nordsjælland's asking price of €1.3 million was too high for them. It was also reported that there were several interested clubs in Eredivisie.[11]
IK Sirius
On 8 March 2024, Walta joined Allsvenskan side Sirius on a deal until 30 June 2028 for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be €1.25 million.[12][13] During his first season with Sirius, Walta made 29 appearances in Allsvenskan scoring seven goals and providing three assists.[14] In November, Walta was listed in the 13th place of the top50 2024 Allsvenskan players by the Aftonbladet.[15]
On 5 October 2025, Walta scored a brace and provided an assist as Sirius won Malmö FF 5–1 at home.[16][17] On 26 October, he scored two goals and provided an assist again as Sirius won IF Elfsborg 4–0, marking his 14th and 15th goals of the season and making it the Sirius single-season goal scoring record in Allsvenskan.[18]
Swansea City
On 2 February 2026, Walta joined Welsh side Swansea City A.F.C. on a loan until the end of the 2026 season which will then move to a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be €3.5 million.[19] On 2 May 2026, Walta scored his first goal for the club; a free kick which went in off the post in a 3–1 win against Charlton Athletic.[20]
International career
Walta is a regular youth international, and has represented Finland at various youth national team levels.
On 4 June 2024, Walta made his senior national team debut for Finland, in a 4–2 friendly defeat against Portugal.[21]
Walta also made six appearances and scored one goal for the Finland U21 in the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign, helping them to qualify for the final tournament for the second time in the nation's history by defeating Norway in the play-offs. However, Walta missed the tournament in June 2025 due to suffering from mononucleosis, and was replaced by Doni Arifi.[22]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of 11 May 2026[24]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Klubi 04 | 2019 | Kakkonen | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Danish Superliga | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| HB Køge (loan) | 2022–23 | Danish 1st Division | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||
| Mjällby (loan) | 2023 | Allsvenskan | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||
| Sirius | 2024 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 7 | ||
| 2025 | Allsvenskan | 30 | 16 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 17 | |||
| Total | 59 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 24 | ||
| Swansea City (loan) | 2025–26 | Championship | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 119 | 29 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 31 | ||
- Includes Danish Cup and Svenska Cupen
International
- As of match played 30 March 2026[25]
- Appearances in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B.
- Appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
- Appearances in the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League C.
- Includes two appearances in the 2026 FIFA Series.
- Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Walta goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 November 2025 | Tammelan Stadion, Tampere, Finland |  Andorra | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |