| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ville Matti Verneri Tikkanen [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 August 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Oulu, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | HJK | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2015 | Tervarit | ||
| 2016 | OLS | ||
| 2017 | SJK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2020 | SJK II | 32 | (1) |
| 2017–2024 | SJK | 131 | (2) |
| 2025– | HJK | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Finland U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2025– | Finland | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 September 2025 | |||
Ville Matti Verneri Tikkanen (born 8 August 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays for as a centre back for Finnish club HJK and the Finland national team.
Born in Oulu, Tikkanen played in the youth sectors of Tervarit and OLS, before moving to SJK in Seinäjoki in 2017, and signing a three-year deal. [3]
On 30 October 2023, the club exercised their option to keep Tikkanen in SJK for the 2024 Veikkausliiga season. [4] On 27 March 2024, Tikkanen was named the captain of his team. [5]
After being linked with Scottish club St. Johnstone, [6] on 18 November 2024, Tikkanen signed with HJK Helsinki on a two-year deal. [7]
After representing Finland at youth international levels, Tikkanen received his first call-up to the Finland national team on 12 March 2025 by head coach Jacob Friis, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Malta and Lithuania. [8]
| Club | Season | League | Finnish Cup | Finnish League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| SJK Akatemia | 2017 | Kolmonen | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2018 | Kakkonen | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2019 | Kakkonen | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 2020 | Ykkönen | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| SJK Seinäjoki | 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 [a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 [b] | 1 | 28 | 2 | |
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| Total | 131 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 160 | 4 | ||
| HJK Helsinki | 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Career total | 163 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 198 | 5 | ||