FLW’s Blades fan commentator has pushed his club to make a deal with their South Yorkshire counterparts for Johansson. This post is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which features personal comments from FLW Fan Pundits on breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings, and more.
Sheffield United will return to the Championship next season, ushering in a summer of change.
The Blades are certain to finish last in the Premier League league when the top flight plays its final round of fixtures next Sunday, therefore Chris Wilder and his recruitment staff are likely to be looking ahead to next season.
While clubs that are relegated to the second division are frequently subject to a slew of high-profile departures, a plethora of current players are facing a summer of uncertainty at Bramall Lane, with their contracts set to expire in just over a month.
Wes Foderingham and Jordan Amissah, both members of the ‘Goalkeepers Union’, are among the names on the list. That being said, it is critical that new blood enters this area if the Blades are to compete at the top of the Championship next season.
Sheffield United encouraged to avoid competition in the Viktor Johansson transfer scandal.
This is the opinion of Football League World’s Sheffield United fan analyst, Owain Wyse, who has pushed his team to reach an agreement with their South Yorkshire rivals, Rotherham United, to bring long-term target Viktor Johansson to the Steel City.
When asked if the Blades should look to do business on this front as quickly as possible, Wyse responded, “Yes, definitely!”
“I think Johansson is a no-brainer.” I honestly don’t understand why we didn’t pursue him in January.”
“(Ivo) Grbic has been dreadful since he joined, and I don’t think we can trust him to improve enough to perform for us next year,” he stated.
“Wes (Foderingham) is back in the side now and doing well, but he’s out of contract at the end of the season and I can’t see him renewing again, so we’re going to need another goalkeeper once again.”
Wyse believes that, despite Rotherham’s relegation, the inclusion of the Millers’ number one would be a wise decision for everybody involved.
“Getting such a good goalkeeper on the cheap – £900k is nothing in the grand scheme of things in football – I think it would be a brilliant piece of business and its a deal I certainly think we should be pursuing,” the fan analyst stated.
“The move makes sense for the player as well. Johansson wouldn’t have to relocate, and he gets back to playing in the Championship, which is the level I think that suits him at the moment.”
He concluded: “He’s certainly good enough to play there, possibly even at a higher level, so I really hope we go for him.”
Sheffield United facing competition for Rotherham keeper As previously mentioned, its not just United who hold a vested interest in securing the shot-stopper’s signature, with the likes of Derby County and Stoke City also said to be circling.
Transfer guru Alan Nixon has recently revealed via Patreon that the price that will lure the one-time Swedish international away from the New York Stadium is a £900,000 release clause that was inserted into his contract, which still has a year left to run.
Viktor Johansson’s 2023/24 campaign showcases ability yet again
Unsurprisingly, given Rotherham’s terrible season, Johansson conceded the most goals of any second-tier keeper – 85 in all – but this does not tell the whole tale.
The long and short of it is that without his services, the Millers may have finished with far fewer than 27 points this season, with the Swede recording 177 saves despite facing 261 shots on goal in 45 games, according to Fbref.
As a result, it came as no surprise that the 25-year-old was named the club’s Player of the Season for the second year in a row, demonstrating that his present ceiling is far higher than the bottom of the second tier.
Given Sheffield United’s own troubles in this regard during the season, they Could do a lot worse when it comes to attracting new talent.
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