Former Striker Sees ‘Natural Next Step’ For Stoke City Star | OneFootball

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Former Championship striker Sam Parkin is of the view that Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson is capable of playing in the Premier League and dubbed it the ‘natural next step’ for the Swede.

The 26-year-old is a former Aston Villa academy product and he joined Stoke in the summer following Rotherham United’s relegation to League One, something which allowed the Potters to trigger a clause in his Millers deal.

On Wednesday, Stoke secured a 1-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers with the help of Johansson’s important saves in the game.

Johansson’s hands have turned out to be the saviour for the Potters on several occasions this season and the Swedish international has kept eleven clean sheets so far.

Parkin, who has been left impressed by his performances, thinks the Stoke goalkeeper has character and stressed that Johansson has the ability to play in the Premier League in the future, which he feels is the natural next step for him.

Parkin is of the view that the shot-stopper is similar to Sheffield United star Michael Cooper.

When asked about whether he is capable of playing in the Premier League, Parkin said on the Championship Check-In show (6:30): “I think so.

“You’d put him in the same category as [Michael] Cooper, wouldn’t you?

“I absolutely think that is the natural next step.

“[He] looks like a real character as well.”

Johansson had been with two Premier League outfits in his career, Aston Villa and Leicester City, but never made a senior appearance for them.

Now it remains to be seen if Johansson’s heroics could keep Stoke up this season, with Mark Robins then looking to build a promotion challenging team over the summer.