Cape Town - Goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola has ended his stay in South Africa, the giant Finn having departed Ajax Cape Town to join up with English Championship (second tier) outfit Reading Football Club.
He will now be plying his trade under former Manchester United and Netherlands central defender Jaap Stam, the current Reading manager.
Stam will be hoping to get the club back into the Premier league after a two-year absence, although he will have his work cut out after the Royals finished in 17th position in the Championship last season.
Jaakkola's acquisition has been officially confirmed by Reading, the following statement issued on their website: “Reading Football Club are pleased to announce that Finnish goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola has completed a move to Madejski Stadium, signing a two-year deal with the Royals.”
Jaakkola had been a mainstay in Ajax's backline for the last three seasons, missing only 12 of 90 league matches in that period. He was consistently amongst the PSL's best keepers, his one-on-one shot-stopping abilities, aerial presence and organisational skills adding steel and solidity to what was usually a very young defence in front of him.
But while Jaakkola's departure will certainly be felt by Ajax, the Urban Warriors have in their ranks some exciting and talented young custodians such as Brandon Petersen and Jody February ready to make the step-up to the first team on a regular basis.
“It's a good move for him. He's done well for the club, he's got aspirations, I think his wife is from Scotland and she'll be closer to home, which will be nice,” said Ajax assistant coach Mich D'Avray.
“It's also a good move for the club because we've got a couple of really good young goalkeepers. I've spoken to coach Roger de Sa and he agrees the two boys are ready to challenge for the number one jersey.”
The 29-year-old, who has been quite a journeyman, having also played in countries such as Scotland, Italy and Finland, has already travelled to England, doing his medical before heading up to Reading, and then flying over on Monday night to the Netherlands for the club's pre-season tour.
He is now looking forward to the challenges ahead at the 145-year-old club, battling with Ali Al-Habsi for a starting berth, and trying to help the team push for promotion.
“I'm excited to be back in Europe, to be back in the UK, and I just want to get down to work,” Jaakkola said on the club's Youtube channel. “Everything happened pretty quickly,” he explained.
“Friday I got a call from my agent to say the clubs had reached an agreement, and the next day I was on the aeroplane. “It's my sixth country [as a professional player], I've been a little all over; the last few years in Cape Town, South Africa. I really enjoyed the experience, it was nice to see a different culture and a different way of living.
“It's [the Championship] one of the toughest leagues in the world. There are teams like Newcastle, Aston Villa, us, QPR, there's loads and loads of good teams, there can easily be 10 teams fighting for promotion.
“I know Ali [Al-Habsi], I saw him play for Wigan, he's a great goalkeeper, I'll try my best to push him,” Jaakkola promised.
In other news at Ajax, the Cape side have released Zimbabwe defender Milton Ncube, while they have signed Eric Chipeta, Joaquim Lupeta and Thabo Mosadi, as well as having promoted seven players from the development ranks.
African News Agency