Arsenal and Tottenham join transfer race after West Ham make ‘bid’



Arsenal and Tottenham are both keen on signing West Brom and England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone this summer, amid talk of first bid from West Ham being rejected by the Baggies.

This is according to David Ornstein of the Athletic, who has stated that the Hammers have had a £10million bid rejected for the England International.

Johnstone, 28, only has one year left on his current contract with the west Midlands club, and as result would become a free agent next summer if no one was to pay the asking price required to get him out of the Hawthorns in this transfer window.

Consequently, David Moyes‘ side have other ideas now considering they are not willing to go above the £10m initial bid.

Current PSG and ex-Fulham goalkeeper Alphonso Areola is now said to be the preferred option for the West Ham board to pursue this summer, in a deal which would initially be on a loan basis but would include an option to buy at the end of the short spell.

This means that the opportunity has opened up nicely for both Arsenal and Tottenham to try and poach the signing of the 28-year-old from Valerien Ismael’s team.

A prospect which is more likely now after the ex-Barnsley boss admitted that the goalkeeper may well move on this summer.

“It’s not a secret that Sam Johnstone and Matheus Pereira can maybe leave the club,” said Ismael. “It’s my expectation that they (will) leave.”

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It is understood that West Brom are looking for in excess of £10m, with Transfermarkt only valuing the shot stopper at a low current market price of £7.2m.

With possibly both Bernd Leno and Paulo Gazzaniga moving on from the respective London clubs this summer, the need for Johnstone could be there.

The shot-stopper was a standout performer, despite the Baggies’ relegation last season, and earned a call-up to the England national squad for Euro 2020 where he unfortunately made zero appearances in the tournament.

Nevertheless, his achievement to make the squad in the first place was a reflection on how well he did for a struggling West Brom side in the 2020/21 campaign. Johnstone made a total of 37 Premier League appearances last season, keeping a total of six clean sheets for the Baggies.

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