Sam Johnstone won’t feature in West Brom’s Championship opener as Arsenal continue to be linked with the England international, Baggies boss Valerien Ismael has told the Birmingham Mail.
Few expected Johnstone and Matheus Pereira to still be at the Hawthorns by the time Friday’s clash with AFC Bournemouth rolled around.
But while the goalkeeper and playmaker are still part of Ismael’s roster, they won’t take to the field against Scott Parker’s side at the Vitality Stadium.
Pereira has been left out of Ismael’s pre-season plans and posted an explosive tweet yesterday confirming his desire to leave the club before the transfer deadline.
The Johnstone saga is proving rather less dramatic.
But, given the choice, the talented shot-stopper would prefer to have a new club by the end of the month having established himself as one of the Premier League’s top goalkeepers in 2020/21.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have identified Johnstone as a cheaper alternative to £32 million-rated Aaron Ramsdale (Express).
Could Sam Johnstone still join Arsenal from West Brom?
“It is too early for (Johnstone) to play,” Ismael said ahead of Friday’s trip to the South Coast.
“He needs some time to clear up his situation.
“We will have some talks in the next few days but, at the minute, it’s important to focus on the players who are available and have had a great pre-season so far. The squad is my focus for the game on Friday.”
David Button, an experienced, proven Championship stopper, has featured regularly between the sticks in pre-season, starting the recent 4-0 thrashing of Midlands rivals Birmingham City.
And it’s understood West Brom have reduced their asking price for Johnstone, demanding just £12 million as they look to cash in on a man who will be a free agent this time next year.
West Ham made a bid for the goalkeeper in June but appear to have bowed out of the race, having signed Alphonse Areola from Paris Saint-Germain instead.
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