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Pukki fired up for Premier League bow
Teemu Pukki admits playing in the Premier League is a dream come true Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Teemu Pukki is counting the days until he can spearhead Norwich City’s Premier League charge.
Pukki has some important dates this summer, with his wedding and Euro2020 qualifiers for Finland on the horizon, but the club's player-of-the-year is just as excited as City fans to start filling in his football calendar.
The Premier League fixtures are released on June 13, a landmark date for the Canaries to discover when they will face the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool. Then it will be full steam ahead to try and carry on where he left off.
"Hopefully next season will be as good as this past season, and better. It's nice to watch it in June when the fixtures are announced, and who we play first," said Pukki.
"We might not be going out to get to the top of the Premier League, but the goal is to stay there for more seasons. We played this season against a few Premier League teams in the cup and did pretty well.
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"We beat Cardiff and lost to Bournemouth.
"Playing in the Premier League is a personal fulfilment for me. I've been playing quite a long time in many countries, Finland, Germany, Spain, Scotland and most recently in Denmark, but I'm really excited about the chance to play at the biggest stadiums in the Premier League, which for me is the most important league."
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The 29-year-old's debut season at Carrow Road ended with a title medal, 29 league goals and a host of personal awards including the Championship player-of-the-year and Championship top scorer, after Daniel Farke enticed Pukki to England 12 months ago.
"It has been the most important decision in my career, when I think about what has been achieved now," he said, speaking to Finnish regional newspaper Turun Sanomat.
"Norwich fans have been incredible. This has been like a family. There was a really good mood at home games and we knew we were going to win our last home game (against Blackburn) because the incentive was huge.
"Such awards are pretty nice. Right now they don't mean that much, but you can watch them back when I am older and remember these times.
"However, I am a team player and because I play at the top of the pitch I have a better chance to score goals and get this recognition. Many other players made a lot of goals for us, which is good for the whole team."
