1113 Marcus Forss

Biography

Finnish international striker Marcus Forss joined the Tigers on transfer deadline day at the end of January 2022, signing a half season loan deal. After an ranging-finding substitute debut against Preston North End he made his first Tigers’ start in a heavy 1-3 defeat at Derby County. He contributed just one goal in February 2022, a fine short range strike against Queens Park Rangers, but generally struggled to impose himself on games and lost his place to Iranian striker Allahyar Sayyadmanesh.

Marcus Uolevi Forss was born in Turku, a port city on the south-western coast of Finland with a rich history as a former capital. Forss progressed through a Finnish football school as a youngster before joining the academy at Premier League side West Bromwich Albion at the age of thirteen, progressing to sign a two year scholarship contract in 2015. He made his senior debut in a November 2016 Football League Trophy tie against Gillingham, his only senior appearance for West Bromwich Albion. Forss was released by the Baggies in May 2017, a few weeks after he scored in the Under-18 Premier League Cup final victory over Swansea City.

In June 2017 Forss joined Championship side Brentford and scored a number of goals for the Bees’ B team during the 2017/18 season, earning an extended contract in February 2018. He made his senior debut for Brentford in August 2018, starting and scoring in a League Cup tie against Southend United. Forss made his Championship debut a few days later against Blackburn Rovers before a back injury sidelined him for five months – he scored his first senior goal in May 2019 against Preston North End. After three appearances for Brentford in the early weeks of the 2019/20 season, Forss joined League One side AFC Wimbledon on loan in September 2019. A few days later he scored on his AFC Wimbledon debut against arch rivals Milton Keynes Dons and went on to net eleven goals in just 19 appearances before a hamstring injury sustained in January 2020 cut the loan short and ended Forss’ season.

Returning to fitness at the start of the 2020/21 season, Forss became an important part of the Brentford first team that won promotion to the Premier League via a Wembley play-off victory over Swansea City. The Bees also reached the League Cup semi-final only to taste defeat against Tottenham Hotspur – Brentford beat four Premier League sides to reach the last four and Forss scored goals against two of them, former club West Bromwich Albion and Fulham. He scored ten goals during the season and made 50 appearances, 34 as substitute. In the first half of the 2021/22 season Forss made seven Premier League appearances, six from the bench, and netted four goals in a September 2021 League Cup tie against Oldham Athletic. Marcus moved to Hull City on loan at the end of January 2022 and left Brentford in June 2022, he scored nineteen goals for the Bees in 74 appearances.

In August 2022 Forss transferred to Championship side Middlesbrough for a reputed £3 million fee. He opened his goalscoring account for Boro in his second appearance against Queens Park Rangers and ended the 2022/23 season with ten goals as the Teessiders reached the Championship play-offs only to narrowly lose the semi-final to Coventry City. After a good start to the 2023/24 season an injury kept Forss out of the Boro team for three months, he returned in the New Year and scored five goals in ten matches between January and March 2024, ending his second season at the Riverside Stadium with seven goals. He cut a peripheral figure in the 2024/25 season and managed only one goal as Boro again fell short of the play-offs and Michael Carrick lost his job as Middlesbrough manager.

In August 2025 Forss dropped down a division and joined League One side Bolton Wanderers on a season-long loan. He made his August 2025 debut for the Trotters in a League Cup tie against Doncaster Rovers, then opened his goalscoring account with a September 2025 brace against Wigan Athletic. By January 2026 he had scored five goals in 25 appearances before dropping out of the Bolton side. Forss returned to the Riverside Stadium and left Middlesbrough in June 2026 having scored eighteen goals in 92 appearances.

Forss was part of the Finland international setup from his teenage years at West Bromwich Albion. He made his only Finland under-17 appearance in June 2015 against Lithuania and progressed to the Under-18s side in the 2016/17 season, scoring four goals in 5 appearances after his October 2016 debut against Poland. He moved into the Finland Under-19 squad during the 2017/18 season, debuting against Portugal in August 2017 and scoring three goals in 7 appearances, ending the season captaining the side. In September 2018 he made his Finland Under-21 debut against Denmark, he scored two goals in 5 appearances that culminated with an October 2020 appearance also against Denmark.

In November 2020 Forss was handed his first senior international cap in a friendly against France and within 28 minutes he scored on his debut. He added a second international goal in a November 2021 World Cup qualifier against Bosnia & Herzegovina and was a part of the Finland senior squad for the next three years. His final cap in October 2023 against Kazakhstan took his senior tally to two goals in 21 international appearances for Finland.

Details

Nationality: Finland
Date/Place of Birth: 18 June 1999, Turku (Finland)
Hull City First Game: 5 February 2022, Preston North End H (Championship), 22 years, 232 days old
Hull City Final Game: 30 April 2022, Bristol City A (Championship), 22 years, 316 days old

Clubs

West Bromwich Albion (2015-2017), Brentford (2017-2022), AFC Wimbledon (2019-2020, loan), Hull City (2022, loan), Middlesbrough (2022-2026), Bolton Wanderers (2025-2026, loan)

Hull City Record

Career: 11 apps, 1 goals