St. Louis CITY SC has signed forward Emil Jääskeläinen on a short-term loan from the club’s MLS NEXT Pro team, St Louis CITY2. Jääskeläinen will be available for CITY SC’s MLS regular season match against Sporting KC tonight at 7:30 p.m. CT at Children’s Mercy Park.
Jääskeläinen trained with the first team during preseason and played in two friendly matches before signing his first professional contract with CITY2. He has made three appearances for CITY2, helping the team maintain an unbeaten start to the season.
After a standout 2024 collegiate season, Jääskeläinen was selected seventh overall in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft by St. Louis CITY SC. He led the NCAA with 23 goals and eight assists in 21 matches for the University of Akron, earning Unanimous BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors, First-Team All-BIG EAST recognition, and a spot as a finalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy. With a career total of 66 goals and 22 assists, Jääskeläinen ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in both goals and points, while also leading in goals per game and points per game.
Per MLS rules, the short-term loan agreement allows clubs to sign players from their MLS NEXT Pro affiliate for MLS, U.S. Open Cup, Concacaf Champions League, Canadian Championship, and exhibition matches. A player on a short-term loan may be included on up to four MLS league season match rosters, though they can appear in no more than two MLS regular season matches.
