Kevin Phillips urges West Brom to seal new contract for goalkeeper Sam Johnstone
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 wants West Brom to use some of the money gained from selling Matheus Pereira to tie goalkeeper Sam Johnstone down to a new contract.
Johnstone, 28, has been strongly linked with a move away from The Hawthorns this summer due to the fact he performed so well in the Premier League last season and is in the final year of his contract.
According to The Athletic, Albion have held preliminary talks with the ex-Manchester United goalkeeper about getting him to sign a new deal.
It is understood that a new contract would include a release clause that can be triggered at the end of the season if West Brom fail to win promotion back to the Premier League.
Johnstone was on the bench on Friday night as Valerien Ismael’s side drew 2-2 with Bournemouth on the opening day of the Championship season.
After the game, Johnstone took to Twitter to post a cryptic tweet that showed an image of him and an hourglass, which may suggest that something big is on the horizon for the England goalkeeper.
After selling Pereira to Al Hilal last week, Ismael’s budget has been boosted and Phillips wants some of that money to go towards tying Johnstone down to fresh terms so he can help Albion win promotion and guarantee they can get a fee for him next summer.
“Give him a new contract,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“Use some of that money from selling Pereira and bump his contract up because if you keep him at the club, you know you’ve got a top-class goalkeeper in between the sticks.
“It gives the defence that peace of mind and confidence that if you do mistakes, he’ll hopefully mop it up.
“It’s a positive sign that he’s now left just yet and with the season underway, you’d like to think he’s going nowhere.
“Of course, anything can happen before the window shuts but it’ll be great business if they could keep him on board.”
In other West Brom news, Phillips has reacted to the news that Albion want to sign this attacker to replace Matheus Pereira.
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