Dropped Fulham player says he’s had ‘good dialogue’ with Jokanović about situation

Fulham midfielder Stefan Johansen has found game time hard to come by this season.

He’s had just 41 minutes of Premier League football, spread out over substitute appearances against Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Brighton.

There’s been a full match in the EFL Cup against Exeter, but it’s clear that Johansen has been dropped as a first pick having featured so often last season in the Championship.

A victim of Fulham’s summer recruitment as the club rightly strengthened ahead of a tough Premier League season, Johansen will get some game time with Norway during the current international break and he’ll hope things improve on his return.

Being the country’s captain, Johansen’s lack of football has been a theme in the Norwegian media and he’s been asked by VG about his ‘situation at Fulham’.

The 27 year old was open and explained he’s already had a chat with Slaviša Jokanović who has tried to put his mind at rest: “If you return to two years ago, I had to fight for a place on the team as well. I have a good dialogue with the manager, and he has explained the situation. It takes some time to settle the team when you have picked up so many new ones, and I’m sure I’ll get my chances.”

By bringing Johansen on as a substitute in three Premier League matches so far, Jokanović has shown he wants to give the midfielder minutes where possible.