Stoke City have had a double project on the go over the last couple of months. At the forefront it’s the major one – trying to pick up enough points to secure Championship survival. But in the background is the preparation for a summer transfer window and trying to make sure they are in a completely different position next season.
The summer of 2024 is not expected to be quite like the summer of 2023. There will be fewer deals and the incomings are mostly expected to be more familiar names than were plucked from Serbia, South Korea, Portugal, Hungary and Switzerland last time around.
Johansson grew up in Sweden and was on the books of Aston Villa at youth level before joining Rotherham via Leicester. He has built a reputation as one of the best shot stoppers in the Championship over the last couple of seasons, including one night at the bet365 Stadium when the visitors escaped with a 1-0 win despite Stoke launching 29 shots at his goal.
Now aged 25, he has been a long-term target of Sheffield United, at least in the past, although they eventually moved for Ivo Grbic in what the Sheffield Star described as “uncertainty about Johansson’s distribution ability due to the Millers’ style”. The Sun’s Alan Nixon has now suggested Stoke are ready to put in a bid.
Wes Foderingham and Adam Davies will be free agents at Sheffield United, the same as Vaclav Hladky and Christian Walton at Ipswich, Alex McCarthy (Southampton), Cameron Dawson (Sheffield Wednesday), John Ruddy and Neil Etheridge at Birmingham, Stoke hero Asmir Begovic (QPR) and Bartosz Bialkowski (Millwall).
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