West Bromwich Albion journalist Joe Masi has been sharing his thoughts on Baggies goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and his future at the Midlands club.
This comes after Masi co-hosted a recent episode of West Brom-themed podcast Baggies Broadcast where he spoke about a number of subjects concerning Sam Allardyce’s side, including their recent 1-1 draw against Wolves in the Premier League.
On the subject of Johnstone, who played the full 90 minutes against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, and a potential exit from the club this summer after it was recently reported that the Baggies have put an asking price of £20 million on the shot-stopper, Masi had this to say on the matter. (37.59)
He said: “Asking prices normally come down, don’t they, but £20 million, looks like that might be the starting point.
“The big thing is how many clubs come in for him? There could be a bidding war. So, we’ll see but when we said last week that maybe £10 million to £12 million, we think but fees can be inflated so I think £20 million may be at a push with one year left on his contract personally.”
The Baggies signed Johnstone in the 2018 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Manchester United for a fee of £6.62 million.
Since then, the 28-year-old, who is currently valued at £5.4 million, has made 127 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, in which he has conceded 172 goals and kept 30 clean sheets in the process (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Joe Masi’s comments on Johnstone…
Given how Johnstone has played every minute of Premier League action for West Brom so far in this current campaign and managed to earn himself a respectable overall season rating of 6.8/10, making him the joint-fourth highest rated player currently in their squad, it’s easy to see why the club have put such a significant asking price on him and why Masi there could be a number of other clubs looking to sign him during the upcoming summer transfer window.
Do you think West Brom should cash in on Johnstone this summer?
Yes
No
In our view, if West Brom get relegated at the end of the season and are then offered a bid they consider suitable for Johnstone, they should cash in on him and focus on regaining a place in the Premier League.