TalkSport insider Alex Crook thinks that West Ham United will make a move for West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone this summer.
David Moyes’ men have had a fantastic campaign, finishing 6th and qualifying for the Europa League, falling just one place shy of their best ever Premier League finish of 5th from the 1998/99 season.
It was a significant improvement from where they were in 2019/20 when they were just five points off the relegation zone, and now the question becomes how they improve on what they have done this season.
One way they could be set to do that is by bringing in some new players, and according to Crook, speaking on the TalkSport GameDay podcast, one area that they could look to make an improvement on is in goal as they look to replace Lukasz Fabianski:
“I think they’re going to sign Sam Johnstone from West Brom. Fabianski has been a tremendous servant, we saw his value to the team when he was injured last season. But he’s 36 now and he did make a couple of mistakes that could have cost them, so I think Sam Johnstone would be a decent addition.
“An England goalkeeper who is in the last year of his contract at West Brom so he won’t cost the earth. I think that’s shrewd recruitment.”
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It certainly is an area that whilst not totally disastrous, West Ham could do with a slight upgrade and Johnstone, valued at £5.4m on Transfermarkt, certainly can provide that, having saved a higher percentage of shots than Fabianski last campaign off a far higher number of shots faced.
In addition to that, Johnstone did not make any errors that directly led to goals, whereas the Pole has made four such mistakes over the past two seasons in the Premier League.
And if they can get the deal done on the cheap as Crook suggests, then it could offer them the chance to spend money elsewhere in the squad.
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