On Saturday evening, news broke that Bayern Munich’s 17-year old wonderkid Ryan Johansson would be committing his international future to Ireland.
Johansson is highly rated at the Bundesliga giants and has featured for Bayern in their pre-season games against the likes of PSG, Manchester City and Juventus.
After featuring for Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden at underage level Johansson has finally decided that his international future lies with the Boys in Green.
But who exactly is Ryan Johansson? Here’s everything you need to know about Bayern Munich’s Irish wonderkid.
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Name:
Ryan Johansson.
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Date Of Birth:
February 15th 2001.
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Where Is He From?
Johansson was born in Luxembourg to a Swedish father and a mother, who was born in England but moved to Ireland when she was 10.
The 17-year old’s grandparents were born in Clare and Westmeath which is how he qualifies for the Boys in Green.
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What Position Does He Play?
Central midfield is Johansson’s preferred position but the young man can also operate at right-back, which he’s done for Bayern’s first team in pre-season, or on the right side of the midfield.
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Style Of Play?
Johansson is an incredibly versatile footballer, who has played in a host of different positions for the German giants’ youth side.
He is technically very strong and has transitioned into more of a defensive style of play since his arrival at Bayern, but his experience further up the field in his earlier career means that on the ball he is extremely confident.
The 17-year old is imposing on the pitch, at 6’1 and his strength and ability on the ball means he is very well suited to the position he plays.
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What Current/Former Player Does He Resemble?
For argument’s sake, Johansson could be compared to Declan Rice in the sense that they both play a similar position, are incredibly comfortable on the ball and are very versatile.
James Milner could also be cited in this instance, again for versatility and work rate but it appears as though Johansson technically could end up being a superior player to the Liverpool man.
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How Has He Performed For Bayern’s Underage Sides This Season?
Johansson has been an integral part of Bayern’s U17s in the B south-southwest division of Germany’s Bundesliga, appearing 21 times, scoring once and grabbing five assists.
After initially not making the squad for Bayern U19s opening few games in the A south-southwest division of Germany’s Bundesliga, Johansson featured in nine games in a row, in a variety of different positions, grabbing two assists for his side.
Johansson has also played four times in the UEFA Youth League, twice in the U19s cup and made the bench for Bayern Munich II, the German club’s reserve side in October.
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How Has He Fared At International Level?
Johansson’s international career so far has been a bit all over the place.
He represented both Luxembourg and Sweden at U16s level initially, appearing seven times for the former and three times for the latter.
The 17-year old also represented Luxembourg at U17 level and in the U19s squad before Tom Mohan called him up for the Boys in Green U19s where he featured twice against Wales.
After outlining that he did not want to commit to Ireland just yet, Johansson was called up to the Luxembourg U21s and made two appearances in their European qualifying campaign.
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How Excited Should We Be That He Has Chosen Ireland?
Extremely excited. Johansson is considered one of Bayern’s brightest youth prospects and the fact that he featured so heavily in their pre-season campaign means that they clearly have big plans for him in the future.
His technical ability in the middle of the park is something that Irish sides have been crying out for for many years now and his versatility means that he’ll be an asset who can perform well in any position he will play.
Add him to Tom Mohan’s U19s side for the elite phase of their European Qualifiers and it makes for an even more exciting side.
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