Celtic star refuses to surrender starting berth amid transfer talk as Champions League debut raises stakes

The Finnish goalkeeper spent two years patiently waiting for his chance between the sticks at Celtic. After keeping a clean sheet on his long-awaited Champions League debut against LASK, the 24-year-old has emphasised that he intends to hold on to the No.1 jersey for as long as he possibly can.

Following Kasper Schmeichel's decision to call time on his playing career after failing to recover sufficiently from a serious shoulder injury, Sinisalo was installed as Celtic's first-choice keeper towards the end of last season - resulting in him donning the gloves for the Premiership title decider against Hearts and the Scottish Cup final triumph over Dunfermline Athletic a week later.

Schmeichel's retirement inevitably prompted questions over whether Celtic would look strengthen the position during the summer window. Transfer speculation has been constant in recent months, but the arrival of a new goalkeeper in Glasgow's east end has yet to materialise.

That could change in the coming days, though, with Celtic making progress in their pursuit of Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Balázs Tóth. But Sinisalo insists he is not concerned by the possibility of facing increased competition. After all, he believes competition should be embraced rather than feared.

"I've got no reason to think otherwise," Sinisalo shrugged in response to being asked if he was confident of retaining the No.1 spot. “Competition brings the best out of players, but I'm not really fussed who gets brought in. It's the same for any player. I've got the shirt and I want to keep it. I've got no intention of letting go of that because I've worked so hard to get it.

"It's an amazing club to play for and once you get that taste of it, of winning trophies, playing Champions League nights, why wouldn't you want to do that more and more? That's my mentality and I think everyone knows that."

That mentality is rooted in the patience required to reach this point. Sinisalo arrived from Aston Villa on a five-year contract in July 2024 after serving as back-up for most of his stay in the Midlands, knowing that he could not simply expect to replace an established international in Schmeichel initially.

However, a succession plan was always in place. Now, after working relentlessly with Celtic’s goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods during pre-season to establish targets for his development, Sinisalo has been granted his big opportunity.

“You can't just expect to walk into a big football club like this,” he admitted. "It doesn't work like that. You've got to earn it and go into big pressurised situations and perform well and prove yourself. I think you constantly have to do that as a young keeper because our careers are probably longer and you're not at your best until you're in your late 20s or even your 30s.

"So I've still got a lot to learn and I understand that but I'm here to do that and hopefully get better as I go. I've never wanted to go about my career and just watch others play. It's always been my ambition to do that [become a No.1], that's got to be your aim. You've got to be patient but every day is a chance to learn something new and I think I've done that for the last two years under Woodsy and the staff. Long may that continue."

Making his Champions League debut was an important step towards achieving that ambition, but Sinisalo knows his standards must rise rather than fall. Against LASK, he made a string of crucial saves to preserve Celtic's three-goal advantage.

“3-0 is different to 3-1,” Sinisalo acknowledged. “Especially when you've got an away leg at a very tough place. Ultimately, you're a Celtic goalie that needs to come up with those moments. Hopefully, I can keep doing that for a long time."

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