West Ham could sign Sam Johnstone from West Brom for ‘cheeky’ £5m after manager reveal – pundit
Noel Whelan has suggested West Ham could sign West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone for £5million before Monday’s transfer deadline.
The former Leeds striker, insisted the Irons could take advantage of the 28-year-old’s behind-the-scenes issues and contract situation at the Hawthorns.
As reported by the Mirror on Thursday (27 January), Johnstone’s future is up in the air after being left out of the matchday squads against Preston and Millwall, with West Ham among his suitors.
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail on Friday (28 January), Valerian Ismael confirmed Johnstone’s absence was due to an “internal issue”.
However, he stated he does not expect the goalkeeper to leave before Monday.
As revealed by Football Insider (22 July), West Ham tabled an £11m bid for Johnstone last summer.
Whelan suggested the Irons could reignite their interest this month.
Discussing a potential West Ham move for Johnstone, Whelan told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “There’s no better time than when a player who’s coming out a contract falls out with the manager.
“He is also an England international. Maybe a cheeky bid to test the water is not a bad time to do it, especially if he’s been left out the team.
“They didn’t get a great result the other night when he was left out. This is something where these cheeky bids and players coming out the back end of their contracts are holding all the cards.
“Put it this way, you don’t get too many quality goalkeepers that you could probably get for £4-5million.”
Johnstone is out of contract at the end of the season.
The three-cap England international has played 24 times this season.
In other news, West Ham tipped to cause “upset” with two late signings.