Joseph Masi says Johnstone could be sold as West Brom will need to ‘bring in money’
West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone could be sold in order to raise funds this summer, according to Express and Star journalist Joseph Masi.
The Athletic recently published a report suggesting the Baggies goalkeeper could be available for a fee between £7.5million and £10million.
Johnstone’s contract at The Hawthorns expires at the end of next season and he has attracted interest from Tottenham in recent weeks, per The Sun.
And Masi believes he is one of two major assets West Brom possess.
Sharing his verdict on the Baggies Broadcast, Masi said, “I’d say about £10-12million, one year left on his contract. How I read the [Athletic] piece and from what I understand from calls I’ve made since is if Albion go down, they’ll have to bring in some money.
“There’s only really two assets they’ve got to sell, I think, and that’s Johnstone and [Matheus] Pereira.
“Chances are Albion are going to have to bring some money in, Sam Johnstone is going to be a player interesting a lot of clubs.
“It’s not really fair to keep Sam Johnstone if a PL club is knocking on the door with £10-£12million.
“It’s not right for the club to say ‘we need money but we’re not going to sell you’.”
Time to sell
Johnstone has proven he is a top-quality keeper and we believe his truer value is closer to the £20million mark, particularly now he is an England international.
However, his contract situation and our impending relegation puts us in a difficult spot.
It is little surprise Albion are keen to cash in – per The Athletic – as this is our only chance to do so – by January his value will have depreciated significantly.
A rebuild will also be required in the summer and Sam Allardyce has been outspoken about the fact he will only stay if he gets certain budgetary guarantees [Sky Sports].
Letting Johnstone go would boost the coffers and perhaps enable us to hold onto other key players – namely Pereira.
The Brazilian would be a lot harder to replace as, unlike the goalkeeping department, we lack alternatives in the squad who could fulfil the Pereira role.
Young keepers Alex Palmer and Josh Griffiths could be promoted to the first-team and if they are not ready we can call on David Button, who is vastly experienced at Championship level.
In other West Brom news, a Slaven Bilic signing may have played his final game for Albion following a big update from Sam Allardyce.
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