Sam Johnstone likely to have played final West Brom game amid Rangers transfer speculation
Rangers goalkeeper target Sam Johnstone is likely to have played his final game for West Brom, according to Sun journalist Alan Nixon.
As quoted by BBC Radio WM on Thursday (14 April), Baggies manager Steve Bruce confirmed that David Button will start in goals for their next few Championship matches.
Writing via his Patreon account in response to Bruce’s press conference, Nixon reported that Johnstone, 29, will be left out of the West Brom squad for the remainder of the campaign.
It is understood that Manchester United, West Ham, Tottenham and Southampton are all interested in Johnstone and while Rangers are linked, Nixon claims “the Glasgow giants are unlikely to be able to afford his wages”.
Not likely
Johnstone has spent the last few years of his career at Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Brom while also playing for England and attracting the reported interest from numerous top teams in the Premier League.
Rangers have very little chance of being able to afford the wages of a player like this.
While Johnstone can move without a transfer fee being paid in the summer, that is likely to mean that the England goalkeeper will command a higher signing-on fee and wages as a result.
He’ll know clubs aren’t paying West Brom millions of pounds for his signature – so those big figures might as well stuff his pockets instead.
Rangers do need to address their goalkeeper situation.
Allan McGregor has shown that he’s still capable of world-class performances but the errors are getting more frequent for the 40-year-old, whose contract expires in the summer.
Jon McLaughlin is Rangers’ second-choice goalkeeper and his contract doesn’t expire until 2024. Maybe he gets promoted to first-choice so money can be spent on strengthening other areas of the squad.
In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist butted in on Gabby Agbonlahor’s bold prediction for the Gers in the Europa League.