Celtic could take advantage of Fulham’s failure to qualify for the Championship play-off final by re-signing midfielder Stefan Johansen.
Fulham lost in the semi-finals of the play-offs to Reading 2-1 over two legs, with Yann Kermorgant’s penalty earning a 1-0 win for the Royals against Johansen’s side in the second leg.
Here, This Is Futbol analyses three reasons why the Scottish champions should look to sign the Norwegian central midfielder in the summer.
Previous Celtic spell
Johansen was popular among Hoops fans during his two-and-a-half-year spell in Glasgow, before he opted to leave last summer and join Championships side Fulham. Making 114 appearances in all competitions, Johansen won a Scottish Premiership medal and scored 19 goals from midfield as well as laying on another 22 assists. After a strong season in west London, Johansen would return to Celtic an even better player if Brendan Rodgers was to add the attacking midfielder to his side this season, while his previous spell with the Bhoys would allow him to adapt quickly to Scottish football and hit the ground running.
Jokanovic’s midfield dynamo
The 34-time international has starred for Slavisa Jokanovic’s Fulham this season, scoring an impressive 13 goals in 43 league and cup appearances from deep. As well as adding eight assists for the Cottagers, Johansen has shown just what he can do when given regular game time and relied upon to provide creativity in the final third. That form could help Rodgers’ side in the Champions League next season, as the former Liverpool and Swansea manager looks for his side to reach the knockout stages and maintain their dominance of Scottish football.
Current midfield options
Rodgers has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 system this season, with Scott Brown’s permanent partner still up for grabs. Nir Bitton, Kouassi Eboue, Stuart Armstrong and Callum McGregor have all been used alongside the Bhoys skipper, but none have held down a regular place. With Bitton’s future in doubt and Armstrong interesting West Brom, Everton and Brighton according to The Express, Celtic could need to bring a new central midfielder to Glasgow and Johansen must be considered high up on that list.