Souey's Swede swoop

Rovers have agreed to pay an undisclosed fee -- believed to be in the region of £2.7 million -- to Bundesliga side FC Nuremberg for the highly-rated defender.

And a cock-a-hoop Souness believes the 21-year-old represents another shrewd investment for the future once he establishes himself in English football.

"We've searched long and hard to get someone in and we feel we've got the right man," said Souness.

"He's naturally left-footed, he's the right sort of age and we know that Scandinavians have a very good attitude because plenty have done well in this country in the past.

"So I believe we've got an extremely talented young player who has a really bright future.

"He's very good on the ball, he's about 6ft 1in tall, and he's what I would call a good all-round player.

"His best position is at centre half but he can also play as a full-back at a push.

"And his arrival now gives us the balance of having another naturally left-sided defender in the squad."

Souness has been chasing a defender ever since securing promotion but has failed in bids to land Liverpool's Djimi Traore and Birmingham's Martin Grainger.

That prompted him to switch his attentions to Johansson after the Swedish Under 21 captain came highly recommended by a contact in Germany who arranged Rovers' pre-season tour.

Ewood scouts subsequently watched him in action against Bundesliga rivals Energie Cottbus and Kaiserslautern, prompting a move by Souness a fortnight ago.

But, the former Bayern Munich star, who was voted the best defender in the German second division last year after helping Nuremberg to promotion, admits the interest all came as something of a shock.

"I've been surprised by the interest shown by the English," said Johansson.

The Swede will now link-up with his new team-mates on Monday and could make his debut against Middlesbrough in the Worthington Cup on Wednesday.