Norwich hero Teemu Pukki ‘wasn’t an out-and-out goalscorer’ at Celtic, according to Neil Lennon
Norwich hero Teemu Pukki ‘wasn’t an out-and-out goalscorer’ at Celtic, according to Neil Lennon

Norwich hero Teemu Pukki ‘wasn’t an out-and-out goalscorer’ at Celtic, according to Neil Lennon

Former Celtic boss Lennon signed Pukki in a £3million deal from Schalke in 2013.

But the move did not work out for the striker, who netted nine goals in 38 games and left after just one season.

Pukki rediscovered his form in Denmark with Brondby, which saw Norwich snap him up on a free transfer last summer.

The Finland international scored 29 league goals in his debut season at Carrow Road as the Canaries won promotion back to the Premier League.

And life in the top-flight has been just as easy for Pukki, who has scored four goals in his first two games, including a hat-trick against Newcastle on Saturday.

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His sudden rise has surprised the masses, and Lennon may be one of those.

Ahead of Hibs’ Europa League qualifying clash with Brondby in 2016, Lennon claimed Pukki ‘was not an out-and-out goalscorer’.

He said: “Listen, he is not going to turn into Superman just because he has got a move to Brondby.

“He still has the same attributes – good feet, okay with his back to goal and he will go in behind as well.

“He has never been the most physical of players, he was never that type. He will be a similar sort of player as what you saw at Celtic but maybe a bit more comfortable in the Scandinavian environment.

“He’s not the first person to come to Glasgow and not hit the ground running.

“He is a quiet boy. He had a few injury problems as well and at a club like Celtic, when you’re brought in for money, you have to score goals.

“And he wasn’t really an out-and-out goalscorer. He played within himself a little bit, I thought. He didn’t really show his capabilities.

“He’s very quiet. I don’t know if it was too big for him because he had been at Sevilla and Schalke, so he had been at big clubs.

“He was never prolific but we felt he had the qualities we wanted but he would maybe say he never got the chance to show that on a consistent basis.”


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Pukki appeared to have the last laugh as Brondby knocked Lennon’s Hibs out of the Europa League on penalties.

In March, the 29-year-old opened up about his failed spell in Scotland.

He told Sky Sports: “I think we can say it wasn’t the success we were hoping for and it was a hard time for me personally.

“I started well and got a couple of goals, but then it didn’t go so well and it’s hard to say why.