Naatan Mikael Skyttä (born 7 May 2002) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 2 club Dunkerque and the Finland U21 national team.[1][2]

Naatan Skyttä
Skyttä playing for Finland U21 in 2022
Personal information
Full name Naatan Mikael Skyttä
Date of birth (2002-05-07) 7 May 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Ylöjärvi, Finland
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Dunkerque
Number 22
Youth career
Ilves
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Ilves 29 (9)
2018HJS (loan) 1 (1)
2019Ilves II 10 (0)
2021–2024 Toulouse 24 (0)
2021 Toulouse B 4 (3)
2022Viking (loan) 10 (0)
2023OB (loan) 8 (2)
2024– Dunkerque 11 (4)
International career
2018–2019 Finland U17 12 (4)
2019 Finland U19 2 (0)
2020– Finland U21 26 (11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Club career

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Ilves

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A product of the Ilves youth academy, Skyttä signed his first professional contract with Ilves first team in 2018. He debuted in Finnish top-tier Veikkausliiga with Ilves first team in the 2018 season.

Toulouse

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Skyttä signed with French club Toulouse on 1 February 2021 on a deal until 30 June 2025.[3] The transfer fee was reported to be €500,000.[4] Skyttä made his debut for Toulouse on 20 April 2021, in a Coupe de France quarter final match against Rumilly-Vallières.[5] On 24 July 2021, Skyttä debuted in Ligue 2 in a match against Ajaccio.[6]

He scored his first goal for Toulouse on 8 January 2023, in a Coupe de France win over Lannion.[7]

Viking FK (loan)

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On 26 August 2022, he joined Norwegian Eliteserien club Viking on loan for the remainder of the 2022 season, without an option to buy.[8]

Odense Boldklub (loan)

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On 31 January 2023, after a brief return to Toulouse, Skyttä signed a loan deal with Danish club OB for the rest of the season, without an option to buy.[9] He scored his first goal for OB in Superliga on 16 April 2023, in a 2–0 victory over Silkeborg.

On 9 May 2023, it was announced that Skyttä had suffered a shinbone fracture in the Superliga match and he was ruled out of games for several months.[10]

Return to Toulouse

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Skyttä returned to Toulouse line-up for the UEFA Europa League group stage match against LASK on 5 October 2023, but remained an unused substitute.[11] He made his first appearance after the injury on 29 October 2023, in a Ligue 1 match against Montpellier, coming in from the bench on the 70th minute.[12] On 7 January 2024, he scored the first goals after his injury, a brace in a Coupe de France win against Chambéry.[13]

Dunkerque

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Skyttä signed with French Ligue 2 club USL Dunkerque on 28 August 2024 on a deal until 30 June 2026 for an undisclosed fee.[14][15] Two days later, he debuted with his new club in Ligue 2, as a late substitute in a 1–0 home win against Rodez. He was named the player of the month of his team in September.[16]

International career

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Skyttä is a regular Finnish youth international. In the 2023 UEFA Euro Under-21 Championship qualification campaign, Skyttä scored 6 goals in 10 matches.

On 15 October 2024, in the last match of the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification against Montenegro, Skyttä scored a brace and helped Finland to 2–1 victory and thus securing the spot to the qualification play-offs, after Finland finished 2nd in the Group E.[17] Finland eventually qualified for the final tournament after defeating Norway in the play-offs.

Career statistics

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As of match played 8 November 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
HJS 2018 Kakkonen 1 1 1 1
Ilves II 2019 Kakkonen 10 0 0 0 10 0
Ilves 2018 Veikkausliiga 2 0 0 0 2 0
2019 Veikkausliiga 11 2 3 0 14 2
2020 Veikkausliiga 16 7 1 0 1[b] 0 18 7
Total 29 9 4 0 1 0 0 0 34 9
Toulouse 2020–21 Ligue 2 0 0 1 0 1 0
2021–22 Ligue 2 13 0 4 0 17 0
2022–23 Ligue 1 2 0 2 1 4 1
2023–24 Ligue 1 8 0 2 2 2[b] 0 1[c] 0 13 2
2024–25 Ligue 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 24 0 9 3 2 0 1 0 36 3
Toulouse B 2021–22 National 3 4 3 4 3
Viking (loan) 2022 Eliteserien 10 0 1 0 11 0
OB (loan) 2022–23 Danish Superliga 8 2 0 0 8 2
Dunkerque 2024–25 Ligue 2 11 4 0 0 11 4
Career total 95 19 14 3 3 0 1 0 113 22

Honours

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Ilves

Toulouse

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b Naatan Skyttä at Soccerway
  2. ^ Gynther, Mikko (27 March 2023). "Lainapestit historiaan? Naatan Skyttä on valmis kovaan läpimurtoon: "En sitä piilottele"" (in Finnish). Aamulehti. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Ilveksen superlupaus pitkällä sopimuksella Toulouse FC:hen" (in Finnish). YLE. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  4. ^ Ikola, Eetu (26 August 2022). "Huippulupaavalle suomalaistähdelle kaivattu seurasiirto" (in Finnish). MTV Oy. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  5. ^ soccerway
  6. ^ soccerway
  7. ^ LANNION VS. TOULOUSE 1 - 7, int.soccerway.com
  8. ^ "Naatan Skyttä prêté au Viking FK sur cette fin d'année 2022" (in French). Toulouse FC. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Pikkuhuuhkajien tähtilupaus Naatan Skyttä uuteen seuraan - "Olen erittäin tyytyväinen"" (in Finnish). MTV Oy. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  10. ^ Oivio, Janne (9 May 2023). "Suomalaislupaus Naatan Skytän, 21, sääriluu murtui" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Toulouse 1 – 0 LASK". UEFA. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  12. ^ soccerway
  13. ^ CHAMBÉRY VS. TOULOUSE, int.soccerway.com
  14. ^ "Le milieu Naatan Skyttä arrive en provenance du Téfécé !" (in French). USL Dunkerque. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  15. ^ Pikkuhuuhkajien Naatan Skyttä siirtyy Toulousesta Ranskan divariseuraan, Yle, 28 August 2024
  16. ^ NAATAN SKYTTÄ ÉLU JOUEUR DU MOIS DE SEPTEMBRE PAR DVN ASSOCIÉS !, usldunkerque.com, 3 October 2024
  17. ^ Naatan Skyttä johdatti Pikkuhuuhkajat jatkokarsintaan, Yle, 15 October 2024
  18. ^ "Le Toulouse Football Club est champion de Ligue 2 BKT" [Toulouse Football Club is Ligue 2 BKT champion] (in French). Toulouse FC. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Toulouse win their first major trophy". guardian.com. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Pallo-Koplan Veikkausliigan tähdistöjoukkue on valittu". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-01-02.
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