The Royal Blues have signed a new striker just before the end of the transfer period. HJK Helsinki’s Teemu Pukki has put pen to paper on a three-year contract that will keep him at Gelsenkirchen until 30 June 2014. The Finland under-21 international (10 appearances) scored all three goals for HJK in the Europa League play-offs.
"Teemu Pukki is a very young and very interesting player with great potential," said Schalke general manager Horst Heldt. "He showed what he is capable of in the two games against us. We hope he'll strengthen our team."
Pukki began his career at FC KooTeePee in the Finnish top flight. He spent the 2008/2009 season at FC Sevilla in Spain before moving to HJK Helsinki in 2010. He made 24 league appearances (13 goals) for Finland's most decorated champions and also appeared in six matches (five goals) in the Champions League qualifying competition and Europa League play-offs.