Stoke City fans will love how Viktor Johansson reacted to Jon Walters decision | OneFootball

Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson has explained his decision to sign a new contract at the bet365 Stadium.

It is fair to say that it has been another disappointing season for Stoke City in the Championship.

After years of underachievement, it looked as though this could be the season that Stoke would mount a serious promotion challenge, and they sat second in the table in late November after a strong start to the campaign.

However, the Potters were unable to maintain their early-season momentum, and they have slid down the table in recent months after a dismal run of just six wins from their last 28 league games.

Stoke have finished in the bottom half of the Championship in each of the last eight seasons since their relegation from the Premier League, and that will once again be the case this campaign, with Mark Robins' men potentially finishing as low as 19th depending on results on the final day.

However, there was a rare bit of good news for the Potters on Friday when the club announced that goalkeeper Viktor Johansson had signed a new four-year contract at the bet365 Stadium.

Johansson joined Stoke from Rotherham United in the summer of 2024, and he won the club's Player of the Season award in his first year in the Potteries, but he has not featured for the club since the end of December after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Viktor Johansson opens up on Stoke City contract decision

Johansson has built up a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship in recent years, and he has been linked with plenty of other clubs during his time at Stoke, including Premier League duo AFC Bournemouth and West Ham United, as well as ambitious Italian outfit Como.

Having signed a three-year contract with the Potters following his move from Rotherham, Johansson was set to enter the final year of his current deal at the bet365 Stadium this summer, but he has now committed his future to the club until 2030, which sporting director Jon Walters described as a "statement of our intent".

Johansson, who could make his return from injury in Stoke's final game of the season at Bristol City on Saturday, also shared his reaction to the news, claiming that he accepted Walters' offer of a new contract without hesitation.

“I love it here; my full focus has been on my rehabilitation so I can be available for the team but, as soon as Jon brought up signing a new deal, it was something I was desperate to do," Johansson told the club's official website.

"I love the lads, the staff and, most importantly, the supporters, who have been amazing to me and my family from day one.

"While we are all naturally disappointed that this season hasn’t fulfilled the promise it showed in the first half of the season, I take positives from how we proved we can compete at the top of this division.

"I’m determined, and I know the lads are too, to sustain those performances over a whole campaign and bring the success everyone at the Club deserves.”

Viktor Johansson contract news is a huge boost for Stoke City and Mark Robins

After Stoke's disappointing second half of the season, supporters could have been forgiven for assuming that Johansson's exit would be inevitable this summer, but tying him down to a new long-term contract is a real coup for the club.

Johansson kept eight clean sheets before sustaining his injury in December, which was the most in the Championship at the time, but the Potters have recorded just five shut-outs in his absence, highlighting the clear influence he has on the team.

It is a big summer ahead for Stoke, with a significant overhaul of the squad likely to be needed if the club are to sustain a promotion challenge next season, but Johansson's decision to sign a new contract is a big show of faith in Walters and Robins' project.