Exclusive: Bilic tipped to pursue summer swoop for boyhood West Brom fan by ex-Baggie
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips believes that West Brom could make a move to sign goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from Bournemouth this summer.
In the aftermath of Bournemouth’s relegation from the Premier League last month, a bunch of Albion fans took to Twitter to urge Slaven Bilic to sign Ramsdale, 22, to replace Sam Johnstone as his first-choice goalkeeper.
Ramsdale has previously revealed that he is a West Brom fan [Bournemouth Echo] and given his impressive displays at Bournemouth, a lot of supporters have put two and two together.
Phillips also thinks that the England Under-21 international is a likely addition at The Hawthorns this summer but is not failing to recognise the performances of Johnstone while the Baggies have been in the Championship.
“When teams come up, managers generally look to improve the spine of the team,” Phillips told West Brom News when asked if Ramsdale is someone Bilic might target.
“I think Sam Johnstone has done a fantastic job at West Brom so he does deserve a crack at the Premier League.
“But if you’re looking for another goalkeeper, it makes sense to go after someone who has Premier League experience and you might get a relegated player for a reasonable price so that one (Ramsdale) could be a goer.”
Johnstone has received a lot of criticism during his two years at West Brom and a lot of it has been unwarranted.
But the former Manchester United goalkeeper does have his weaknesses and we’d be lying if we said that he cannot be improved upon this summer.
It remains to be seen what kind of price-tag Bournemouth slap on Ramsdale’s head but given his strong performances in the Premier League, coupled with the fact he’s young and English, means they could demand a lot of money.
The Baggies have other priorities in the transfer window and signing a new goalkeeper shouldn’t be something Bilic places too much importance on yet.
In other West Brom news, Albion are set to bid £7.2million for this international attacker.
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