# Santeri Väänänen

Santeri Väänänen (born 1 January 2002) is a Finnish professional football player who plays as a midfielder for Eliteserien club Rosenborg, and captains the Finland under-21 national team.

## Club career
### HJK Helsinki

Väänänen started to play football with Pajamäen Pallo-Veikot (PPV) in Pajamäki, Helsinki. Later he joined the youth sector of HJK at the age of 7, and played with the club's district youth team in Munkkiniemi along with Matti Peltola.
In 2018, Väänänen made his senior debut with the club's reserve team Klubi 04 in the second-tier league Ykkönen. Later in the same year he debuted with the first team in Veikkausliiga, aged 16.
On 17 June 2019, Väänänen renewed his contract with HJK, on a deal until the end of 2021. During the next seasons, he played occasionally in the starting line-up in the league, but his major breakthrough was delayed until the 2022 season due to injuries.
Väänänen also represented HJK in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League and in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League group stages.

### Rosenborg BK

On 7 December 2022, Norwegian Eliteserien side Rosenborg announced the signing of Väänänen on a four-year deal. The transfer was effective starting in January 2023. He made his debut with Rosenborg on 12 March 2023, as a substitute in a 2–0 Norwegian Cup defeat against Viking. He scored his first goal in Eliteserien on 2 June 2024, in a 1–1 draw against Fredrikstad. In late September 2024, Väänänen suffered a knee injury and was estimated to miss 2–3 months.

## International career

Väänänen has represented Finland at various youth levels. He captains the Finland under-21 national team in the 2025 UEFA Euro U21 Championship qualifiers.
He made his international debut with the Finland senior national team in January 2023, in the friendly matches against Sweden and Estonia.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 15 September 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Klubi 04 | 2018 | Ykkönen | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| Klubi 04 | 2019 | Kakkonen | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 |
| Klubi 04 | 2020 | Kakkonen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Klubi 04 | 2021 | Ykkönen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Klubi 04 | Total | Total | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| HJK | 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| HJK | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| HJK | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| HJK | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| HJK | 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| HJK | Total | Total | 41 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 73 | 2 |
| Rosenborg 2 | 2023 | 3. divisjon | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 |
| Rosenborg | 2023 | Eliteserien | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| Rosenborg | 2024 | Eliteserien | 18 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 2 |
| Rosenborg | Total | Total | 41 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 108 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 149 | 6 |
* ↑ Includes Finnish Cup, Norwegian Cup
* ↑ Includes Finnish League Cup
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

### International

    As of match played on 12 January 2023.
| National team | Year | Competitive | Competitive | Friendly | Friendly | Total | Total |
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Finland | 2023 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

## Honours

HJK
* Veikkausliiga: 2020, 2021, 2022
* Finnish Cup: 2021