Antti Pasanen, the chairman of Kemi Kings in Finland, has high expectations for Jonté Smith, their new loan signing.

The Kings, who are coached by Tommy Taylor, the former West Ham defender, are pushing for promotion from the Finnish third division this year and Pasanen is relying on Smith to deliver the goods.

“We see lots of potential in him and we are sure he can help us to get promoted to the first division,” Pasanen said. “He is a striker, so naturally we are hoping he can score loads of goals. We are excited to have him here.”

It was revealed this week that Smith had been loaned out to the Kings by Crawley Town, his parent club from Sky Bet League One in England, who have suggested that the 19-year-old Bermudian will not be offered a new deal once his existing contract expires in the summer.

“He will be on loan until end of the June and after that he will continue as our player at least until end of the season,” Pasanen said. “We just a signed contract with him and it includes two option years after this season.”

The mystery over how Finland appeared on Smith’s horizon as a possible next destination was unravelled when it was learnt that a former team-mate at Crawley paved the way for him to head farther north than any Bermudian has dared in the quest to cut his teeth as a professional footballer.

“We asked about him from John Dollery, who is also playing in our team now,” Pasanen said. “He recommended Jonté to us.”

Smith arrived in Finland on Wednesday to begin life at his new club, effectively bringing to an end a two-year stint at Broadfield Stadium, where he made only four first-team appearances, all as a substitute.