21 year old central midfielder, currently with Norwegian side Strømsgodset.
IMO the best central midfielder in the league this season - he's outperformed Wolff Eikrem at Molde, although I'd say Wolff is more of an attacking mid, and Johansen plays the deep-lying playmaker role reminiscent of for example Pirlo.
I think he's going to be top class. People talk about Markus Henriksen when we talk about midfielders in Norway, but this lad's got much more about him. He's got a fantastic passing range and accuracy, posesses positional intelligence in abundance, offers a goal threat, great set piece delivery, vision, and is very proficient in finding the killer pass.
As far as central midfielders go, his skillset is just about complete. The only thing I'd question is the defensive side of the game, but while it's not his biggest strength, he does put a shift in. Needs to understand his role defensively a bit more, and learn to read where the balls are going to come, but he's shown great development in this area of his game as well as every other.
Now here's the interesting part: He came to Strømsgodset before the start of last season, so he's spent about a year and a half with them. He was slightly chubby, questions were raised about his dedication, work rate and mentality, and got a bit of a reputation for being a big time charlie in his former club, Bodø/Glimt.
Glimt were relegated in his last season, and he barely got a sniff. When he came to Strømsgodset, he was regarded as a winger. The first season at his new club was spent mostly in their second side, where he did decently enough. At the end of last season, he impressed in the first team when he got the chance as a left back.
Then, this season, the manager's suddenly decided to play him as a central midfielder, the deep lying part of a midfield three - and he's been absolutely brilliant. Out of nowhere he's emerged as one of the contenders for player of the season, and surely can't be far away from his international debut.
His development this last year and a half is almost unprecedented, he's gotten lean and fit, his work rate is tremendous, and his obvious natural talent has really made itself count in the position as a central midfielder.
Watch out for this kid - dare I say it, he would be perfect in terms of the type of player we need at United - even though there's no way to be sure if he'll ever be good enough. My prediction though is that he will find himself at a top club abroad in a maximum of two years.
What say my fellow viewers of the Norwegian league?
IMO the best central midfielder in the league this season - he's outperformed Wolff Eikrem at Molde, although I'd say Wolff is more of an attacking mid, and Johansen plays the deep-lying playmaker role reminiscent of for example Pirlo.
I think he's going to be top class. People talk about Markus Henriksen when we talk about midfielders in Norway, but this lad's got much more about him. He's got a fantastic passing range and accuracy, posesses positional intelligence in abundance, offers a goal threat, great set piece delivery, vision, and is very proficient in finding the killer pass.
As far as central midfielders go, his skillset is just about complete. The only thing I'd question is the defensive side of the game, but while it's not his biggest strength, he does put a shift in. Needs to understand his role defensively a bit more, and learn to read where the balls are going to come, but he's shown great development in this area of his game as well as every other.
Now here's the interesting part: He came to Strømsgodset before the start of last season, so he's spent about a year and a half with them. He was slightly chubby, questions were raised about his dedication, work rate and mentality, and got a bit of a reputation for being a big time charlie in his former club, Bodø/Glimt.
Glimt were relegated in his last season, and he barely got a sniff. When he came to Strømsgodset, he was regarded as a winger. The first season at his new club was spent mostly in their second side, where he did decently enough. At the end of last season, he impressed in the first team when he got the chance as a left back.
Then, this season, the manager's suddenly decided to play him as a central midfielder, the deep lying part of a midfield three - and he's been absolutely brilliant. Out of nowhere he's emerged as one of the contenders for player of the season, and surely can't be far away from his international debut.
His development this last year and a half is almost unprecedented, he's gotten lean and fit, his work rate is tremendous, and his obvious natural talent has really made itself count in the position as a central midfielder.
Watch out for this kid - dare I say it, he would be perfect in terms of the type of player we need at United - even though there's no way to be sure if he'll ever be good enough. My prediction though is that he will find himself at a top club abroad in a maximum of two years.
What say my fellow viewers of the Norwegian league?
