Johnston exit saga takes another twist as Flamengo chief makes bizarre claim
West Brom and Mikey Johnston are still reeling from his failed transfer to Flamengo.
This transfer would have benefited the Baggies and represented a huge opportunity for Johnston.
Yet, it fell through at the last minute due to fan backlash and supposed concerns over Johnston’s fitness.
It is already one of the strangest transfer sagas of the summer, and it has arguably got weirder following comments from Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Baptista.
‘Bap’, as he is known, has been questioned further about the last-minute collapse, and his comments have arguably created more questions than answers.
Flamengo president speaks about over abandoned Johnston transfer
Baptista was asked about Johnston during an interview for Flamengo’s YouTube channel and was happy to expand on the club’s concerns over his fitness.
It was a lengthy explanation, suggesting the winger wasn’t perceived as fit enough to start every game in the Brazilian season.
“The medical report from the club there says he’s fit to play 1,800 minutes a year. How many has he played this year? 900. So am I going to bring in a player to play 900 minutes when I still have to play 4,000?” he told Flamengo TV.
“These are choices you have to make. It’s not against the athlete, it’s in favour of Flamengo. He may be a great athlete, a great professional, but for Flamengo’s needs, at this moment, in my opinion, he wasn’t ideal.”
Baptista also defended his decision to step in and block the transfer; something that upset Flamengo football director José Boto at the time.
His comments on Johnston become even more unclear once you consider that he played over 2,000 minutes for West Brom last season.
Johnston can still be a useful player for West Brom if he isn’t sold
West Brom could really have done with the £5million that Flamengo were initially willing to pay for Johnston.
It is believed that several Brazilian clubs were interested in signing him, although Flamengo remain the only one to have placed a bid.
| Appearances | Minutes Played | Goals | Assists |
| 41 | 2133 | 3 | 5 |
So, as things stand, Johnston will remain a Baggies player heading into the new season.
That might be a disappointment when thinking financially, but Johnston remains capable of whipping up some magic on the left wing for West Brom.
Ryan Mason introduced him in the second half of the Baggies’ friendly against Dynamo Kiev on Friday (11 July) and provided an assist for the opening goal, scored by Nat Phillips.
If he remains at The Hawthorns and leads the team on a march to promotion, everyone at the club may look back at this transfer saga as a blessing in disguise.
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