West Brom supporters will be gutted after what Mikey Johnston said on Wednesday
West Brom supporters would have been desperate for the club to keep hold of Mikey Johnston after his time on loan with the club from Celtic.
Johnston arrived at The Hawthorns on loan in January and enjoyed an excellent half-season spell in England.
The 25-year-old has now returned to his parent club following the conclusion of his time with West Brom.
Ahead of his departure, the winger penned an emotional goodbye message via his official Instagram account (22 May).
Johnston wrote, “I wish it could’ve finished differently but still such a happy period of my career. An amazing club with such good people.
“Thank you for everything @wba and to the fans for the unbelievable support you’ve given myself and the team all season”.
Carlos Corberan would have been desperate to keep Mikey Johnston at West Brom
As the old saying goes, never fall in love with a loan player.
But when it comes to Johnston, it was particularly difficult for West Brom supporters not to.
Had he been with the Baggies for the entirety of the season, they might be playing their football in the Premier League next year.
As per fbref, the forward ranked in the 99th percentile of his positional peers in the Championship for the number of non-penalty goals he scored (0.54 per 90).
Johnston scored seven Championship goals and recorded one assist in just 18 appearances in the competition, with his ability on the ball just as impressive.
The Celtic man ranked in the top five per cent of attacking midfielders and wingers in England’s second tier for the number of successful take-ons he registered (3.03 per 90) and progressive carries he made (5.13 per 90).
Furthermore, he was among the top three per cent for his progressive carrying distance (148.21 yards per 90) and the top two per cent for his total carries into the final third (3.50 per 90).
And he once again ranked in the top one per cent for the number of his successful take-ons which led to a shot attempt (0.93 per 90).
It was an incredible loan move, and a lot of West Brom fans would have been hopeful the switch would be made permanent.
But after the use of the word “finished” in Johnston’s goodbye message, it doesn’t appear as if that is on the cards at this moment in time.
In other West Brom news, the club face an anxious wait after a contract decision was made on Wednesday.
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