PLAYER PROFILE

Mikael Forssell

Position: Forward

Height: 5'10

Weight: 10st 10lbs

Date of Birth: 1981-03-15 Steinfurt, Germany

Mikael Forssell

Mikael Forssell initially signed for Birmingham on a four-month loan deal from Chelsea at the end of the August 2003 transfer window, before it was extended until the end of the season.

The Finn was forced to move from the west London club after a host of stars joined Chelsea following the takeover of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Forssell would have found first team chances very limited after the oil tycoon splashed over £100million on Hernan Crespo, Adrian Mutu, Damien Duff, Juan Sebastian Veron and several other world-class players.

But the fact that Claudio Ranieri does not want to sell his young striker shows just how highly he is regarded.

Chelsea beat off a host of European clubs to sign the then 17 year old wonder kid on a Bosman free transfer from HJK Helsinki in 1998.

Mikael soon went on to prove his worth with a double wonder strike against Oxford United in the FA Cup.

A striker with a true eye for goal and the vision of cultured midfielder, Forssell soon became recognised as an outstanding prospect.

After two loan spells at Crystal Palace, where he was a great success, Forssell returned to Chelsea to try and force his way into the first team. He made 39 appearances in 2001/02, though only eight were from the start. He scored 13 goals, earning him the tag of "super-sub" and comparisons with fellow Scandinavians Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Tore Andre Flo. Though he was flattered by the comparisons, he insisted that he doesn't want to be known as a great substitute, but a great player.

in January 2003, he joined German club Borussia Monchengladbach on loan until the end of the season to get match practice, and was a big hit over there, scoring seven goals in 12 games.

He arrived back at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2003 demanding first team football, and although he did not say that he wanted to leave Chelsea, the partnership of Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen and the signing of Crespo and Mutu made it difficult to see how Forssell could break into the team.

And so Steve Bruce didn't hesitate in swooping for the youngster, and Forssell was equally swift to make an impression. In November 2003, his loan was extended until the end of the season.

There was plenty of speculation for months afterwards about whether the move would be made permanent in the summer, as Birmingham were certainly keen to keep him. In April 2004, the loan was extended for another year to allow Forssell to remain at St Andrews for the 2004/05 season.

However, Forssell suffered a serious knee injury which required surgery. The loan was terminated in January 2005 and Forssell returned to Chelsea, without having played a single game for Birmingham that season.

He made a brief re-appearance in the Chelsea team at the end of the season playing two games, but in June 2005 returned to St Andrews, this time after a £3m deal made the move permanent.

However, his time with the Blues has been hampered by injury and poor form and he will be hoping he can recapture his best form in 2007/08.