Elma Junttila Nelhage

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Elma Junttila Nelhage
Personal information
Full name Elma Novah Junttila Nelhage
Date of birth (2003-05-21) May 21, 2003 (age 22)
Place of birth Hisingen, Sweden
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
–2019 IK Zenith
2019–2020 Kopparbergs/Göteborg
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021 Kolbotn 14 (0)
2022–2024 BK Häcken 51 (2)
2025– Lyon 4 (0)
International career
2018–2020 Sweden U17 22 (1)
2021–2022 Sweden U19 10 (1)
2022– Sweden U23 16 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 August 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 August 2025

Elma Novah Junttila Nelhage (born 21 May 2003) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Lyon.

Contents

Early life

Elma Junttila Nelhage was born on 21 May 2003 in Hisingen, Sweden. [1]

Club career

BK Häcken (2021–2024)

Elma Junttila Nelhage began her professional career with BK Häcken, which she signed her first professional contract with in March 2021. She spent most of the 2021 campaign out on loan, playing for Kolbotn, who placed sixth in the Norwegian top division Toppserien. Nelhage made 14 league appearances of which she started in 12. [2]

She made her debut in the Damallsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish women's football, in 2022. [3] [4] Nelhage scored her first Damallsvenskan goal on October 10, 2024, against Vittsjö GIK. [5] With BK Häcken, she made a total of 91 appearances across all competitions, scoring 3 goals. In the league alone, she played 51 matches, including 18 starts in 20 appearances during the 2023/2024 season. [6]

Lyon (2025–present)

On 3 January 2025, she joined Lyon, after her contract with BK Häcken expired, [7] signing a contract until 30 June 2027. [8] [6] At the time of her signing, she was the only left-footed central defender in the squad. [9] She made her debut for Lyon on 14 March 2025, coming on as a substitute in a league match against Stade de Reims. [10]

References

  1. "Elma Junttila Nelhage". soccerdonna.de. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  2. "Junttila Nelhage förlänger sitt kontrakt". BK Häcken (in Swedish). 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  3. Balkander, Mattias (2021-03-19). "Häcken flyttar upp fem juniorer till A-truppen". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  4. TT (2025-01-03). "Lämnar Häcken för fransk storklubb". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  5. "Elma Junttila Nelhage gjorde sitt första damallsvenska mål". bkhacken.se (in Swedish). 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  6. 1 2 "Elma Junttila Nelhage rejoint l'OL Féminin !". www.ol.fr. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  7. Sport, S. V. T. (2025-01-01). "Fotboll: Avslöjar: Elma Junttila Nelhage lämnar Häcken – klar för Lyon". SVT Sport (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  8. "L'OL recrute la Suédoise Elma Junttila Nelhage gratuitement". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  9. "Football. OL féminin : Elma Junttila Nelhage, une gauchère «rare en Europe»". www.leprogres.fr (in French). 2025-01-06. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  10. "Arkema Première Ligue: Premier match pour Elma sous les couleurs de l'Olympique Lyonnais". Coeurs de foot (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-04.