Steve Madeley claims Sam Johnstone may be priced out of West Brom exit
Sam Johnstone seems destined to leave West Brom for bigger things but Steve Madeley says an Albion exit will not be straightforward.
The 28-year-old shot-stopper has shone for the Baggies this season despite his club’s struggles at the foot of the Premier League and his heroics in goal even earned him an England call-up for the latest round of international fixtures.
Such form is said to have alerted top clubs with The Sun reporting in January that Tottenham Hotspur were lining him up as a potential Hugo Lloris replacement.
But The Athletic’s West Brom reporter Madeley has appeared to pour cold water on suggestions that Johnstone is a certainty to secure a summer exit from The Hawthorns.
On his personal Twitter profile, he said: “Indeed. And Covid will also impact on the Johnstone situation to some degree. No club is going to spend £5-10m on a goalkeeper unless they definitely need one.”
Fee would be a snip for SJ
Sitting 10 points behind Newcastle United who occupy the final survival slot in the Premier League, Albion seem certain to make an instant return to the Championship.
That is why it seems so difficult to imagine a world where Johnstone stays with us.
He has proven himself as a top-level performer so surely he has a whole host of suitors lining up to prise him away from The Hawthorns.
The fee mentioned by Madeley, between £5-£10million, seems like a snip and with plenty of years ahead of him it would be a great-value deal for most teams to pick up.
His contract at West Brom expires in less than 18 months [Transfermarkt] which goes some way to explaining the small fee mooted.
But we would still hope to rake in more than that for a player who has earned international recognition.
Covid environment or not, we’re not as confident as Madeley that a £5-10million fee would scare off interested parties.
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