Stefan Johansen

Mixed opionions on this. I would of liked to have seen if BR could of got the best out of him again and if only 1 million fee maybe it's worth him having the opportunity. But Only BR can answer that and if he agrees to sell it shows he has other plans.

 

Stefan Johansen and Nir Bitton edge towards Celtic exit

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Nir Bitton and Stefan Johansen edge towards Celtic exit

Via: http://www.heraldscotland.com/


£6M+ for Bitton. £3 for Johansen...


CELTIC could be about to cash in on two of their most experienced midfielders as Nir Bitton and Stefan Johansen edged closer to moves away from the club.
Angel Gomez, the Espanyol sporting director, claimed discussions had started between themselves and the Israeli whose price tag is expected to be around £6million, which is far less than it would have been midway through last season when Bitton was playing the best football of his career.
And Johansen, another whose form dropped off dramatically in the previous campaign, could be on his way to Turkish giants Galatasaray if Celtic accept their offer of £3m.

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Bitton signed a new five-year deal just over a year ago at a time when he was the club's best performer and Arsenal were openly monitoring his progress.
But he badly lost his way in second half of the season and while the midfielder remains a class act, it does appear that his time at Celtic may be about to end.
"We know him well. He is a good midfielder," revealed Espanyol's deal maker Gomez. "At the moment, there is no offer. Just talking. We are collecting information about him and many other players."
Johansen went from Player of the Year to losing his place in the side in the space of just a few months last time out.

And while Brendan Rodgers may still see Bitton as one to keep, Galatasaray feel confident they can persuade the Norwegian, Player of the Year two seasons ago, to sign for them on a £1million-a-year contract.
What is certain is that there will be quite considerable movement at Celtic over the next two months.
But one player who is back is the much-maligned Efe Abrose who has joined up with the Celtic squad in Slovenia which suggests any move away has been postponed.
The defender, who has been linked with a £1.5m move to Bayer Leverkusen, could even feature in the friendly against Marabor on Saturday evening.
The Nigerian, guilty of many mistakes last season, may still be required to do a job in the short-term as Erik Sviatchenko could be the only fit and available defender for the first Champions League qualifying game against either Flora Talinn or Lincoln Red Imps.
Charlie Mulgrew has yet to sign a new contract, while and Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic are still injured.

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Me thinks some players did down tolls on not just Ronny, but the fans also. If these 2 with Mulgrew/Commons (ALLEGEDLY) did cause a *-storm in Celtics Dressing room and training park, good riddance. I think Rodgers is about to spend a LOT of Money on a certain Joe Allen, doing great for Wales, and Liverpool player he rates highly. By doing so clearing 2 players who have questions marks against them, with a player of genuine quality at the highest level as we can see.

I trust Rodgers here no problem.
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We are never getting Joe Allen for * sake. Hes been the best midfielder in the Euros so far and I doubt we could match the wages which will inevitably be offered by Premier League teams. No chance we are getting him

 

I think Brendan could get the best out of him and Stefan at his best is a player u want to keep, if he is hellbent on leaving then at the very least 5m for me, as far as Biton goes I think on his day he is our best place and if we lost both i would b seriously worried approaching these qualifiers unless there is very good replacements lined up

 

I cant see brendan letting them leave without knowing their replacements. He will obviously have targets. I think its the right time to sell both Biton and Johanson to be honest. We dont want Johanson to leave on a free in january so anything above £2m is a great offer when you consider we lost ledley for £800k and he was by far the better player. Biton is one where i cant see him getting any better and with Brendans all out pressing and high tempo I dont think it will suit Biton. So if we got £7m or even £8m for him then I think we would be doing excellent business.

 

We're still in talks with them over Johansen. We've rejected the £1.1m bid.

 

I would be quite worried as well.

Hopefully we have good replacements lined up if both are offski.

 

He's not very good technically but thought he might have fit Rodgers' pressing game. Shame it went so wrong last year.

 

In the deeper midfield roles that Stefan and Bitton play we also have Brown, Ajer, McGregor and Henderson. Brown is captain so will play, Ajer is well regarded as a player of true potential so we should see him being groomed, McGregor was one of the few shining lights last season and showed incredible maturity to take games by the neck and really make things happen for us - this talent needs to be encouraged and rewarded with playing time, and Henderson does seem to have something worth investing in.

If we add to the above with the 'experienced CM' that was rumoured, i think we have enough to warrant letting Nir and Stefan go.

It still leaves us to choose three players from:
Brown
McGregor
Rogic
New 'Experienced' CM
Ajer
Henderson
Allan


Not to mention Armstrong and Christie who could play in the central position if needed.

To me thats at least 4 first team ready players, plus very good backup from up and coming players.

 

£3m would be good money for him at this stage, given his contract situation.

We need a proper DM either way imo. Central midfield was the weakest area of our team last season and Ajer alone won't make the difference, as talented as I'm sure he is. Sell Johansen and bring in a quality central midfielder who can break up play and control the tempo of the game.

 

Moving to 3 in the middle and being properly organised will make a major difference though.

 

He hid against Rangers and was * consistently * last season :bbpd:

 

I thought at one time Johannsen was gonna be our next 10 million player but he faded away badly. Dont think he really wants a new contract with us and now would be the best time to sell. Cant help thinking theres a very good player in there though.

 

I defended him for a good long time even when he was playing *. Now though I just want to see him gone, get a decent fee and free up more wages. Just not good enough on a consistent basis- we can do better.

 

Bit of a Beram really good at start then faded? Cod and skis for him!

 

Woeful tonight, friendly or not he should be at least looking interested.

 

Didn't look like he wanted to be there at all, a liability more than anything

 

He was a big pile of Jobbie tonight.