Aron Johannsson signs new contract with AZ Alkmaar

Aron Johannsson will be at AZ Alkmaar for a little while longer, or at least another team will have to pay a pretty penny to sign him from the Dutch club. The American forward has signed a new contract with the club that runs through 2018, a nice reward for his 26-goal season at AZ.

Johannsson was signed by AZ just 18 months ago and after spending the first half of a season behind Jozy Altidore on the depth chart, took over the starting spot when Altidore was sold to Sunderland. It didn't take him long to adjust to being the leading man, finishing third in the Eredisivie in goals as AZ finished eighth.

Now, Marco van Basten is the AZ manager, which should be a boon for Johannsson. The Ajax and AC Milan legend was an incredible striker and has been praised for his abilities to work with forwards, even if his ability as a manager have been questioned.

With a new contract, Johannsson can either stay at AZ long term or, more likely, move to a bigger club for a hefty fee soon. With Johannsson under contract, AZ can demand a bigger transfer fee from whoever comes calling, be it one of the Eredivisie's biggest clubs of one from another country. If the 23-year-old continues scoring, and especially if he stars for the U.S., teams will definitely come calling and Johannsson could find himself on a much bigger stage before long.