Jutta Rantala

‘Looking Forward To Learning A New Culture’ – Rantala’s First Words As A Fox

Finnish international Jutta Rantala is excited for the new Barclays Women’s Super League campaign after signing a two-year deal with LCFC Women.
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This week, the addition of forward Rantala to Willie Kirk's squad was confirmed, ahead of their third season in the WSL, the top tier of English women’s football.

Rantala becomes the fifth new face through the door, following Lena Petermann, Janice Cayman, Aimee Palmer and Lize Kop – with Courtney Nevin and ‘keeper Janina Leitzig making their moves permanent during the break.

Versatile in any position across the front line, City’s latest signing brings a wealth of experience, having played in Sweden and Finland’s top leagues, as well as match time on the international stage for her home country.

“It feels good to sign, I’m excited to be here,” Rantala said. “It’s a great Club and I’m ready to get going. The WSL is a good league, and it’ll be exciting to have the new challenge, playing against the best players in the world, so that’s probably the main reason I wanted to come here.

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Jutta Rantala & Willie Kirk

Jutta Rantala signed a two-year deal with the Foxes.

“I hope to bring a lot of goals and assists. I’m quite a technical player, I can shoot with both feet, and I hope to bring a lot to the Club. My best position is probably as a no.10, but I can play in any attacking role.  

“I’ve seen some Leicester games before, but I’ve mainly just been watching the league. The Manager has been very kind, he explained how happy he was for me to sign and play here.”

Signing from Vittsjö GJK, the midfielder has picked up silverware in her career, winning both the Finnish Championship and Women’s Cup in 2019 with Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (HJK).

The new Fox is also familiar finding the back of the net, scoring close to 100 senior goals since her playing career began in 2014.

“The Manager wants me to be a player who drives at other teams, and face the goal in possession, and be bright when on the ball,” the 23-year-old stated. “I’ll admit, I’d prefer to score a goal than assist, but I’m happy with both!

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Jutta Rantala

In front of her new home.

“King Power Stadium looks so nice, and I’m excited to play in such a big stadium, and hopefully we’ll get a lot of people here to watch our games.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the Leicester fans. It’s a new culture here and it’s different than I’m used to in Sweden and Finland, so I’m excited to learn new things and enjoy my time here.”

This season, City are working hard to improve on last year’s 10th-placed finish, and instead push up the table to become an established side in the WSL, and Rantala is keen to make her mark in the East Midlands, helping the team anyway she can.

“The training facilities are amazing,” she added. “They’ve got everything they need, and it will no doubt help us this season. A few of the players have said hello, but I’m looking forward to catching up with them properly!

“My main goal is to get as much playing time as possible. Being a starting player is important. I want to be involved in the games, score a lot of goals, and do everything I can to help the team.”

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