Delve into the life of Stefan Johansen, born in the frosty winds of Norway, on the 8th of January 1991. This promising laddie now aged 33, finds himself sporting the number 10 jersey as a central midfielder for the quaintly-named Sarpsborg 08. An impressive 1.82m (or 5ft 11in for folks adverse to metric) serves him well in the mid-field tussle, and he's solid as a rock, weighing in at 78kg (or about 12st 3 lb, for the stone-age lovers among us).
In the distant past of January 2009, Johansen dared make the leap to join Bodo Glimt in Norway's Eliteserien, cutting his teeth with five first team appearances and then rapidly jumping to 18 in the next season. What a start, would you believe.
As the leaves fell in January 2011, he bid farewell to Bodo Glimt and ventured onto pastures new with Stromsgodset in the same league. His record there was passable, with 67 appearances and 8 goals scattered over 3 seasons. But, wait for the revelation...
The winter of 2014 brought our Mr Johansen to Celtic - remember them? They're that wee team that plays in the Premiership up in Scotland. The Norwegian lad was bargained off for a cool £2m, making 73 appearances, and scoring a dozen goals over his 3 seasons at the club.
During the sweltering August of 2016, Fulham in England's Premier League caught his eye for another £2m. Seemingly enjoying warmer climes, Johansen turned out a handful of respectable seasons, with notable blips under the radar in 2018 and 2019, before eventually being loaned to West Bromwich Albion to liven things up. While there he managed to net twice over 12 appearances.
The summer of 2019 marked his return to Fulham from loan, where he promptly continued his trend of fluctuating performance. But, not to worry, Fulham didn’t cling onto him for too long. It was only a matter of time before he was on the move again, being loaned out to Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in January 2021.
And what do we have here? His time at QPR seemed agreeable considering they eventually bought him outright in July 2021 for a meagre sum of £630k. Was that a step down or simply a value for money decision by QPR? He did manage to muster 85 appearances and netted 7 times during his time there. Surely, that’s not a total disaster.
But wait! There’s a surprise twist in the tale. Somehow, Johansen vanished in June 2023. Might he have faded into the ether? Quite the mystery.
Cue the dramatic re-entrance: The prodigal son returns to his home turf in February 2024. Now running the show at Sarpsborg 08, where in the current season, he's notched 28 appearances and scored six goals. He's back home alright, probably wishing he'd stuck with fjords and fish all along.
All in all, a curious career. Littered with soaring peaks, dismal troughs, and more loan agreements than he'd care to acknowledge. One can only watch with bated breath to see where the wind will blow him next. Oh, the joys of professional football.
