Leeds United Opinion: Peacocks should sign Stefan Johansen for free
According to The Daily Star, Leeds United are weighing up a move for Fulham midfielder Stefan Johansen in the summer, with the 28-year-old Norwegian international set to be out of contract at the end of the season.
The same report claims that Leeds are interested in signing the midfielder irrespective of where they would be playing their football next season.
Johansen moved to Craven Cottage in 2016 on the back of a fruitful spell at Celtic and set the stage on fire in the Championship with his impressive performances. The Norwegian was one of the architects of Fulham’s promotion-winning campaign in the second-tier last season, contributing with 8 goals and 9 assists from 48 appearances in the league.
However, his fortunes at west London took a complete U-turn upon Fulham’s promotion to the Premier League as he found regular minutes hard to come by. Johansen started only 4 games in the top flight earlier in the season and played a bit-part role in the first-team before being shipped out on loan to Championship outfit West Brom in January.
The 28-year-old has once again rediscovered his mojo in the second-tier with the Baggies, registering a goal and an assist from 6 appearances.
The race for the second automatic promotion spot is very delicately poised and Leeds will need the results to go their way in the remaining games if they are to avoid competing in the playoffs in a bid to end their 15-year-long absence from the Premier League.
To put things into perspective, Leeds would need to add more depth to their squad if they do manage to secure promotion to the Premier League.
While the fans at Elland Road are likely to anticipate a few marquee signings in the summer, the Peacocks would also need to acquire a few useful squad players to cope with the hectic and demanding top-flight schedule. And Stefan Johansen certainly falls in the latter bracket.
Johansen is ideally a box-to-box central midfielder who excels with his range of passing and uncompromised work-rate in the middle of the park. Strong in the tackle and adventurous in the attacking third, the Norwegian has a knack of chipping in with valuable goals and assists at crucial times.
Although he doesn’t have that much of an X-factor in his game and lacks in terms of technical abilities, he makes up for it with his dogged work ethic- cutting out attacks to win back possession and carrying the ball forward to establish a link between the midfield and the forward line. He keeps things ticking in the midfield and that is exactly what makes him a useful player.
Leeds cannot look at Johansen as a replacement for Samuel Saiz as he is doesn’t always manage to spark that creativity but an experienced head like him would provide cover and competition for the likes of Adam Forshaw, Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich.
Moreover, Johansen’s experience of playing in the Europa League with Celtic might prove to be a big asset to a club like Leeds.
To Read More Leeds United News, Click Here:- Latest Leeds United News
Johansen failed to make much of an impact in the Premier League this season but he is the sort of player who tends to hit top gear when provided with a consistent run in the first team.
Also, it won’t be much of a gamble for Leeds to snap him up on a free transfer at the end of the season. That said, they should not hesitate to strike a deal for the Norwegian international in the summer.
