West Ham want West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone as new No 1
West Ham will be in the hunt for a new number one goalkeeper in the summer and are interested in West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, according to the Express & Star.
The Midlands newspaper claims that as Lukasz Fabianski turned 36 on Saturday, the Irons are interested in replacing David Moyes’ goalkeeping mainstay.
Johnstone, 28, has been in superb form at West Brom this season and earned himself a call-up to the last England squad.
Superb replacement
Johnstone has been brilliant for the Baggies this season despite their lowly position in the Premier League standings.
Although the ex-Manchester United goalkeeper has conceded 57 goals in 30 Premier League appearances this term, he’s widely seen as West Brom’s player of the season by their fans and has grabbed attention for a string of impressive performances.
In February, Gary Lineker hailed Johnstone as “sensational” when he made a stunning last-ditch save to earn Sam Allardyce’s side a point against Man United.
According to stats by Wyscout, no goalkeeper has made more saves than Johnstone [135] in Europe’s top five leagues. However, he’s also faced more shots [192] than any other shot-stopper.
Still, we have to say that Johnstone has been in better form than Fabianski this season with the 36-year-old enduring a shocker against Newcastle on Saturday.
We wouldn’t be against the idea of injecting fresh blood in that area of the pitch and a young, English goalkeeper in Johnstone would do exactly that.
It remains to be seen what kind of budget GSB will hand Moyes in the summer but if Johnstone is up for grabs, we don’t see the harm in going out to sign him when Fabianski is getting on, has shown a dip in his form and is out of contract next year.
In other West Ham news, our panel of Super Fans have reacted to this player’s “stinker” on Saturday.