View: Johnstone likely to have one eye on West Brom reported talks to sign 31y/o PL goalkeeper
West Brom are pressing on with their search to sign a new goalkeeper this summer with John Percy reporting that the club is in talks over Brighton’s David Button.
According to the Telegraph journalist, Albion are in discussions over a potential £1million deal for the 31-year-old, who made just four appearances in all competitions for Brighton last season.
Since winning promotion to the Premier League, the Baggies have been linked with a number of goalkeepers but they have missed out on the likes of Joe Hart, David Marshall and Ivo Grbic already with them finding new clubs.
Button’s name is a fresh one on the list of players linked with The Hawthorns this summer and it seems Slaven Bilic and Luke Dowling have eyed him up to add competition for Sam Johnstone next term.
Ali Al-Habsi has already been released by the Black Country club while Jonathan Bond remains out of contract despite training with the club.
Johnstone and inexperienced Alex Palmer are the only two goalkeepers under contract at The Hawthorns right now so striking a deal to sign Button is bound to add an extra layer of depth to Bilic’s options.
It’s likely that Button would be the second-choice goalkeeper if he’s signed and Bond is released.
Button has a lot of experience having made almost 300 league appearances in his career.
However, the Brighton number two has barely played in the Premier League, failing to play a single league game for the Seagulls last season.
But, Button still has the ability to at least put some pressure on Johnstone, whose performances have come under scrutiny from sections of West Brom supporters in the last two years, with many pointing to the fact that he has no serious competition for the number one jersey.
Bond didn’t really impress whenever he had a shot and while Palmer won the PFA Fans’ Player of the Season award in League Two after a superb loan spell at Plymouth, he’s untested anywhere near the level of the Premier League.
If this deal goes through and the £1million fee is agreed with Brighton, we would expect Johnstone to remain as first choice with Button cranking up the heat as second choice and potentially Palmer third.
In other West Brom news, fans are happy with an update which says a player could be leaving the club in a potential swap deal.
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