West Brom to intensify Sam Johnstone talks in January
West Brom will intensify talks to keep Sam Johnstone at the club in January, confirms Valerien Ismael.
The Baggies are looking to return to winning ways when they take on Hull City in the Championship on Wednesday,
Ahead of the game, Ismael was asked about Johnstone’s contract as his deal runs out in the summer and he has been linked with a move to the Premier League.
The Baggies boss responded, via Express and Star, “There’s nothing new. It’s a patient game now, like a chess game. He wants to see. For sure, we want to extend. At the minute, I’m not worried, it’s a normal process.
“From January we will start to go more intensively in the discussion but at the moment we’re all focused on the pitch, on the performances.”
Hope he stays
In his mind, Johnstone sees himself playing Premier League football next season.
Whether or not it’s at the Hawthorns will all depend on how the squad fares from now until the end of the season.
He’s not downed tools despite quite clearly looking for a way out in the summer, which is a very good thing.
It suggests that he is enjoying his time at West Brom and with promotion, there’s a good chance that he stays.
Ismael knows that January is only a time in the future and he’s got to work hard to get his side ready to challenge for promotion.
Thus far, there’s still plenty of work to be done and we would not blame Johnstone if he’s looking for his way out of the club.
In other West Brom news, Chris Lepkowski calls for change after slamming a Baggies man for what he did after Fulham loss
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