West Bromwich Albion journalist Luke Hatfield believes Sam Johnstone would be a better signing for Arsenal than Sheffield United's Aaron Ramsdale, speaking to FootballFanCast.
The Gunners have been pursuing 23-year-old Ramsdale this summer to provide competition to Bernd Leno, already having two bids knocked back for him and, according to Sky Sports, are currently considering launching a third.
With the Blades man only re-joining Bramall Lane from AFC Bournemouth last summer, the shot-stopper impressed in the second half of last season and still has three years left on his current deal, allowing Slavisa Jokanovic's side to maximise their valuation.
As per The Times, the Championship outfit are currently demanding £32m for Ramsdale's services, having only paid £18.5m to lure him to South Yorkshire less than 12 months ago.
Sheffield United boss Jokanovic sees him as a vital part of his squad and is reluctant to lose the England international this summer as the Blades aim for an instant return to the Premier League.
Another club aiming for a return to the top flight after their relegation are West Bromwich Albion, who are in a slightly trickier situation with their goalkeeper.
Baggies boss Valerien Ismael is resigned to losing 28-year-old Sam Johnstone between now and the end of the month due to interest from the likes of the Gunners, Manchester United and West Ham United - and the fact he has less than 12 months left on his remaining deal.
Express and Star reporter, Hatfield, believes he would be a much better man to target than Ramsdale, who will only be sold for a sizeable figure during this window.
Speaking to FootballFanCast, he said: "The Arsenal stuff is interesting because Ramsdale is a good goalkeeper, don’t get me wrong, but if I were to pick a goalkeeper out of the two, I’d probably go for Johnstone at the moment.
"I know Ramsdale is younger but the fee Arsenal are looking to pay, you see reports of £30 million, I have no idea why they’re not even considering Sam Johnstone for less than half of that.
"You’d imagine Albion will probably sell for between £10m or £15m. If you go in with £12 million, I think West Brom will probably consider that and say ‘this is probably a deal that’s worth going for’."
The Verdict:
Going for Johnstone would be a no-brainer for Arsenal. He might be five years older than Johnstone and not exactly a long-term successor for Bernd Leno because of that, but do they really need to spend £32m on a backup goalkeeper considering the fact they have other areas to address?
Although it's clear the Gunners need to address this position, they don't need to spend £30m+ on someone who may not even displace Leno for the next year or two. In Johnstone, you have a reliable figure, perhaps a better goalkeeper at this stage and someone who can be recruited for a much cheaper price.
The 28-year-old may still leave The Hawthorns despite ongoing negotiations about a potential new contract and if nothing is agreed imminently, it's time for the Baggies to cash in on one of their prized assets.
They may be reluctant to lose someone of his quality, but they cannot afford to let him go for free and they risk doing just that if they keep him beyond this month without a fresh deal being signed.