Serge Atakayi


Serge Atakayi is a professional footballer who plays for Finnish club SJK as a forward. Originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he has represented his adopted country of Finland at under-19 level.

Early life

Atakayi, originally from Democratic Republic of the Congo, applied for asylum in Finland alongside other members of his youth football team when visiting the country in 2010.

Club career

FF Jaro

Atakayi joined the youth system at FF Jaro in 2013 and made his senior debut for the club in 2015. He became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Finnish top flight when he scored against HIFK on 17 May 2015, aged 16 years and 107 days.

Rangers

On 31 August 2016, after trial periods with Leicester City and Fulham, he joined Rangers on a three-year contract. He signed a one-year contract extension to tie him to Rangers until 2020 in June 2018. He made his debut against Motherwell in a 7-1 win during November 2018.

SJK

Atakayi left Rangers on 30 December 2019 to join Finnish side SJK for a reported fee of £100,000.

International career

Atakayi was born in DR Congo but obtained Finnish citizenship in 2016 and represented Finland at under-15 level. In June 2016, Atakayi represented Finland at under-18 level in the Baltic Cup and scored in a 2–2 draw with Lithuania on 2 June 2016. He made his debut for the Finland under-19 side on 4 September 2016, in a goalless draw with Romania.

Career statistics