West Bromwich Albion journalist Joe Masi has been sharing his thoughts on Baggies goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and the possibility of him leaving the Midlands club during the upcoming summer transfer window.
This comes after Masi recently co-hosted the latest episode of the Express & Star’s West Brom-themed podcast, Baggies Broadcast, where he discussed a number of topics concerning Sam Allardyce’s side.
On the subject of Johnstone, who has been linked with a summer move away from The Hawthorns, Masi had this to say on the matter.
He said: “The issue is going to be who comes in for him, I think.
“I just don’t think he’s going to go anywhere to be a No 2. He’s just far too good to be a No 2, so he’s going to go to a club where you would expect him to play every week, and if there is that club out there, and if they then stump up the cash that Albion want for him [he could go].
“It’s a difficult one, because he’s obviously very settled in the area, he’s obviously playing well, he’s obviously got a great connection with the club. If he stays with Albion next year, he knows he’s going to be playing every week, he knows he’s probably going to be playing for a side that’s competing to get back into the Premier League. There’s a lot of reasons to stay.”
West Brom signed Johnstone back in the 2018 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Manchester United for a fee of £6.62 million.
Since then, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £5.4 million, has made 122 appearances for the Baggies across all competitions, in which he has conceded 164 goals and kept 29 clean sheets in the process (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Joe Masi’s comments on Johnstone and his future at West Brom…
Given how Johnstone is the only West Brom player to have played every single minute of action for the Baggies in the Premier League so far this season, and the fact that he has made more saves (112) than any other goalkeeper in the league, this highlights just how important he has been for the side.
Would you be disappointed if West Brom sold Johnstone this summer?
Yes
No
In our view, unless Johnstone says he wants to leave and a different club agree to pay a suitable transfer fee for the shot-stopper this summer, then West Brom should try and keep hold of him so he can help them get back to the top flight if they do get relegated this season.