Sam Johnstone has told close friends that he is heading to the Hawthorns to sign for West Brom this month, according to the Express and Star.
The regional newspaper claims that the goalkeeper, who is on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, is convinced he is about to complete a permanent move to the Baggies.
But it is said that West Brom have prioritised other positions in the newly-opened window and that reports a fee have been agreed between United and West Brom for Johnstone are wide of the mark.
TeamTalk had reported that Johnstone has a clause in his loan deal at Villa Park that would allow Man United to recall him in January before selling him to West Brom for £4million
Johnstone has been a mainstay of Aston Villa’s first team since initially arriving on loan in January 2016.
He has played every minute of every game this season and manager Steve Bruce has made it clear he would like Villa to sign the 24-year-old permanently.
OPINION
It appears that Johnstone has told friends he is heading to West Brom, but that a deal is far from close to being struck between the clubs. On the face of it, that is a major contradiction and the conflicting information would leave many Villa fans questioning the legitimacy of the source. Nevertheless, modern transfers are far from simple, given the sums of money involved and the constantly fluctuating situations in which deals are on one day and off the next. What is certain is that West Brom have a fine goalkeeper already in Ben Foster who has 18 months remaining on his contract. He does not appear ready for the knacker’s yard, while Johnstone needs to be playing regularly at his age as he enters his prime years. Sure, he is a massive upgrade on Albion No2 Boaz Myhill, but new manager Alan Pardew would be better off investing in attacking talent in the current window, rather than a back-up keeper.