Inverness teenager who was previously in the youth set up at Caley Thistle agrees deal to sign for new club in Oulu in Finland
INVERNESS teenager Danar Strzelec has made the next step on his football journey in Finland after agreeing a deal to sign for a new club.
The 18-year-old put pen to paper as he signed a deal to join Oulun Palloseura who play in the Finnish fourth tier.
Strzelec originally headed out to Finland in January when he agreed a deal with Paimere United.
Now, he has joined Oulun Palloseura, more commonly known as OPS, who are based in Oulu in North-West Finland.
Strzelec’s football career has taken him on a whirlwind journey over the last 12 months as he has played in Scotland, England and Finland.
He says that he is looking forward to representing OPS, with the Finnish football season set to begin this month.
He said: “I ended up in Finland due to my agent.
“While I was at Abingdon Town in England, my agent found me a deal that I couldn’t say no to.
“Regarding OPS, the deal came around when the club president was looking for a talented goalie and someone who could help the team.
“So my agent asked me what I thought about it and I said a new place and new faces sounds like a good match for me.
“They are looking for me to do what I do best and advance to a higher league and lead the team to victory.”
During his childhood, an extra bone was found growing on his hip which snapped his tendon, which was originally misdiagnosed as bone cancer, threatened his career.
Strzelec had played football all his life starting his career at Balloan before going onto within the youth set-up at Highland League club Clachnacuddin.
He then went on to spend two years with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
However, he was released when he was 16 which left him considering his future in football. However, he then went to a UK Football Trials day hoping that he would catch the attention of a club.
It was a gamble that paid off as he ended up going on trial with London giants Chelsea for six months and then went on to sign for Abingdon Town.
Strzelec says he is settling into life in Finland as well as making an attempt to learn the language too.
He is preparing for the new campaign with OPS during pre-season as they aim to achieve success in the campaign.
He said: “Playing in Finland is like a breath of fresh air and I couldn’t ask for a better place to be.
“So far with OPS I have had one game, but I am the starting goalkeeper.
“At the start in Finland it was difficult as I didn’t know the language and that was a barrier.
“But the country has grew on me and I love it here.
“The season hasn’t started yet, it’s just pre season games at the moment.”
