A familiar face returns to Scottish football as Hibs sign Jonatan Johansson from Malmo

Jonatan Johansson
"I'm looking forward to the new challenge and to be working with Mixu again"
Hibs have made their move to add another striker to their squad with the signing on a pre-contract agreement of former Rangers and Charlton striker Jonatan Johansson who will officially join his new club when the transfer window opens on January 1. Johansson has signed a deal until the end of the 2009-10 season and will move from Swedish club Malmo, whose season has now finished. Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen knows all about Johansson as they played together at international level. The Hibs boss said: "I am delighted to have secured the services of Jonatan, and I am confident that Hibernian supporters will quickly appreciate that we have obtained an experienced international striker who has scored goals wherever he has played. He also has experience of the Scottish Premier League, so I'm sure he will settle very quickly into our squad."

Johansson, who has 91 caps and scored 17 goals for his country, said: "I am delighted to have secured this move to Hibernian and to be coming back to Scotland. I'm looking forward to the new challenge and to be working with Mixu again. I recently visited the training centre and was blown away - it really is a fantastic facility. I look forward to training there to get up to speed on my match fitness for the new year." Johansson was born in Stockholm before his family returned home to Finland. He began his career with his hometown club Pargas IF before joining TPS Turku in 1995 and Estonia's FC Flora Tallinn two years later. He was signed by Rangers in the summer of 1997, scoring 24 goals in 37 starts before moving to Charlton in 2000. He scored 14 times in his first Premier League season and spent another five years at The Valley before joining Norwich on loan. He joined Malmo in July 2006 where he played alongside international team-mate Jari Litmanen.

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