Mumbai City have announced the signing of Finnish midfielder Joni Kauko for the truncated 2025-26 season. Joni Kauko is a name well known in the Indian football circuit, previously plying his trade for Mohun Bagan and Inter Kashi. With Mumbai City needing both experience and midfield tenacity, Kauko provides both in abundance.
Kauko’s Journey So Far
After a breakthrough at Inter Turku in 2008, he became a regular at club level from the next season. Towards the end of his spell at the Finnish club, he had his national team breakthrough as well, marking the start of a 9-year-long international career.
Kauko went on to have stints in the German second and third division, but made his name as the all-action midfielder we know him as for Danish club Esbjerg. His form in the Danish leagues led to his eventual call-up for the delayed Euro 2020, where he played in all three of Finland’s group games.
Kauko signed for Mohun Bagan straight after the tournament in 2021, and went on to win an ISL Shield and ISL Cup at the club. His time at the Mariners was interrupted by a serious knee injury he suffered against FC Goa in November 2022, which kept the midfielder out for over a year. His return for the second half of the 2023-24 season was an immediate boost to the club’s ISL Shield aspirations, as the club went on to win the trophy by a point against, coincidentally, his new club Mumbai City after a final-day 2-1 win over them.
A stint at Inter Kashi followed, where the midfielder helped the Varanasi-based club to the first I-League trophy in their history. After a short stint with KuPS back in Finland, Kauko returns to the ISL, but this time in Mumbai City’s sky blue.
How will Kauko help Mumbai City?
As seen in the Super Cup, Mumbai’s midfield was thin. Without the calm of Yoell van Nieff, the lack of an aggressive operator deeper in midfield was visible. The likes of Franklin Nazareth, Puipuia, and Lalnuntluanga Bawitlung (aka Tluanga) were all played in the deeper midfield role, but a gap in midfield was still evident. With a player of Kauko’s calibre, Petr Kratky will hope that gap is adequately addressed.
Kauko is a player who knows how to win possession back for his team. His defensive skill, paired with his ability to cover ground, made him a key cog for Mohun Bagan and later Inter Kashi.
Apart from his skill in winning the ball back, Kauko is also a calming presence on the ball. His runs from deep have also proved to be threatening on numerous occasions, with or without the ball. This skill of arriving late and either taking on a long shot, or playing an incisive through ball, allowed his teams to get a direct route toward goal.
Mumbai’s squad already features a selection of players that could benefit greatly from Kauko’s arrival. Wingers like Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Partap Singh could use Kauko’s passes to begin attacks from the wings, paired with a striker capable of hold-up play in Jorge Pereyra Diaz to further enable their movement.
Furthermore, Kauko can also be a link between the defence and players like Ortiz and Brandon Fernandes, who are capable of playing the cutting-edge final ball themselves. It is now to be seen how Kauko fits into the starting eleven, and who plays alongside him.
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