It seems like Neil Lennon’s words about Teemu Pukki have come back to bite him.
Former Celtic boss Lennon signed Pukki in a £3million deal from Schalke in 2013.
But the move did not work out for the striker, who netted nine goals in 38 games and left after just one season.
Pukki rediscovered his form in Denmark with Brondby, which saw Norwich snap him up on a free transfer last summer.
The Finland international scored 29 league goals in his debut season at Carrow Road as the Canaries won promotion back to the Premier League.
Click Here: Newcastle United Shop
And life in the top-flight has been just as easy for Pukki, who has scored four goals in his first two games, including a hat-trick against Newcastle on Saturday.
LIVE on talkSPORT
Check out all the live commentaries coming up across the talkSPORT network this week
- Norwich vs Chelsea (Saturday, 12:30pm) – talkSPORT
- Derby vs West Brom (Saturday, 12:30pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Sheffield United vs Leicester (Saturday, 3pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Liverpool vs Arsenal (Saturday, 5:30pm) – talkSPORT
- Swansea vs Birmingham (Sunday, 12pm) – talkSPORT 2
His sudden rise has surprised the masses, and Lennon may be one of those.
Ahead of Hibs’ Europa League qualifying clash with Brondby in 2016, Lennon claimed Pukki ‘was not an out-and-out goalscorer’.
He said: “Listen, he is not going to turn into Superman just because he has got a move to Brondby.
“He still has the same attributes – good feet, okay with his back to goal and he will go in behind as well.
“He has never been the most physical of players, he was never that type. He will be a similar sort of player as what you saw at Celtic but maybe a bit more comfortable in the Scandinavian environment.
“He’s not the first person to come to Glasgow and not hit the ground running.
“He is a quiet boy. He had a few injury problems as well and at a club like Celtic, when you’re brought in for money, you have to score goals.
“And he wasn’t really an out-and-out goalscorer. He played within himself a little bit, I thought. He didn’t really show his capabilities.
“He’s very quiet. I don’t know if it was too big for him because he had been at Sevilla and Schalke, so he had been at big clubs.
“He was never prolific but we felt he had the qualities we wanted but he would maybe say he never got the chance to show that on a consistent basis.”
Norwich City vs Chelsea – Saturday, August 24 (12:30pm) – LIVE on talkSPORT
Pukki appeared to have the last laugh as Brondby knocked Lennon’s Hibs out of the Europa League on penalties.
In March, the 29-year-old opened up about his failed spell in Scotland.
He told Sky Sports: “I think we can say it wasn’t the success we were hoping for and it was a hard time for me personally.
“I started well and got a couple of goals, but then it didn’t go so well and it’s hard to say why.
“The one year I had there was a really good experience for me. I have good memories and it made me a better player.
“I got used to the physical play in Scotland and it taught me about some stuff for sure.
“I’m happy even though it didn’t go so well and I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Then I got the transfer I needed to Denmark.”
Saturday is GameDay on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 as we become your go to destination for all the Premier League action.
We’ll bring you LIVE commentary of Premier League games across all three time slots on Saturday – 12.30pm, 3pm and 5.30pm – delivering award-winning coverage to more GameDay listeners than ever.