"£10m and £12m" - Claims emerge around Viktor Johansson at Stoke City | OneFootball

FLW's Potters fan pundit has placed a hefty valuation on their Swedish number one

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson has been given a price tag of upwards of £10 million following his standout performances so far this term, since his summer arrival from Rotherham United.

Johansson was impressive in his four years with the Millers, as he helped them win promotion to the Championship in 2022 and then won their Player of the Year award for 2022/23, and so it did not come as a surprise to see a real transfer battle commence for his signature upon their relegation in May.

The 26-year-old made the move to the Potters that month for a reported initial £750,000 fee, with potential add-ons taking it beyond the £1-million mark, ahead of the new season, and has seen his performances go up another notch in the Potteries so far this season.

Sizeable Viktor Johansson price tag set by Stoke fan pundit

Johansson has undoubtedly been the Potters' best performer so far this term, and his brilliant saves week-in, week-out have kept them in games and allowed recently-appointed boss Narcis Pelach to oversee a run of just one league loss in the last seven outings.

The Swedish international's goals prevented, at 8.4, is by far and away the best among goalkeepers in the Championship, and his latest exploits away at Blackburn Rovers saw him win plaudits for numerous fine saves that allowed Stoke to go on and win 2-0 at Ewood Park.

Stoke fan pundit, Sam Harrison, has put a hefty price tag on Johansson ahead of the upcoming January transfer window, as a result of his standout form, after we asked him what he should be valued at right now.

"Viktor Johansson had another fantastic game (against Blackburn). Stoke just weren’t at their best, there wasn’t a lot in the game and worldies of saves from him, not just any old saves, kept us in the game and we won 2-0," Sam told FLW.

"That’s the difference-maker at the end of the day, in terms of either side, and the difference from Stoke this season compared to last.

"Obviously it's a fantastic deal that we made, and it has to be one of the signings of the summer.

"In terms of his current market value, it’s so difficult because we’re in the current day and age where market values are so high.

"Compared to the top goalkeepers in the Championship… he is up there, no doubt about it. It’s tough to say who is better. I’d take him every day of the week.

"When you look at James Trafford being valued at around (a rumoured) £15m, nothing against him, as I think he could be up there in the coming years, but I’d take Johansson.

"If we got £15m for him that’d be absolutely amazing, but I don’t want to say that, so I’d probably say between £10m and £12m.

"It’s very tough because I don’t want to put his value too high just because he’s a Stoke player, but I don’t want to put him too low either.

"If James Trafford is worth £15m, is there a five million difference between him and Johansson? No, I don’t think there is.

"Maybe people will say (£10-12m) is too high, maybe Rotherham fans will go ‘wow, that’s a lot of money’.

"If you just look at his saves in the last few games…exceptional, absolutely superb goalkeeper."

Stoke will not want to lose Johansson for any price in January

The Potters endured a tough start under Spanish boss Pelach, but have lost just one of their last seven Championship games, with two consecutive wins for the first time this season in their last two outings, and they have Johansson to thank above any other player for their recent upturn in form.

Their 2-0 win at Blackburn saw him record just his fourth clean sheet in 14 league games to date this season, yet that does not tell the full story, as his saves per 90 (4.21), and post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed (+0.66), each place him in the 98th percentile of goalkeepers in the second-tier so far this term, using FBref.

The 26-year-old is in the form of his life in ST4, and fan pundit Sam is hopeful that he can continue to shine for Stoke in the years to come, after we asked him about concerns that top flight clubs may be interested in his services in the near future.

"If he was to go and we got the money for him, obviously then we’d be happy at the profit, but fingers crossed he can stay as the Stoke number one for quite a number of years.

"Obviously he is going to have a lot of people interested, especially in January, where some keepers might have been a bit shaky.

"If a team had Johansson coming in, what a replacement he would be."