Tottenham Hotspur's move for West Bromwich Albion shot-stopper Sam Johnstone is set to collapse because they couldn't offer reassurances on game time, according to journalist Dean Jones who spoke to Give Me Sport.

The 29-year-old is confirmed to be leaving the Baggies on the expiration of his contract in the summer amid interest from elsewhere, with multiple sides in the Premier League thought to be keen on the England international.

West Ham United were one side reported to have even submitted a bid for his services last summer, though a move failed to materialise with officials at The Hawthorns rejecting their advances.

 

 

This has opened the door for other sides to recruit Johnstone and it looked as though his former side Manchester United and Spurs were set to go head-to-head in a bid to win his signature.

Football Insider even reported that the latter were set to win the race for the goalkeeper if they made an offer with the 29-year-old reportedly telling friends that he wanted to make the move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, that deal has failed to come to fruition yet and Antonio Conte's side are now at risk real of missing out on the Englishman, with negotiations hitting a key stumbling block according to reporter Jones.

He told Give Me Sport: "Basically what happened was, Sam Johnstone was very far down the line in terms of joining, and, from what I understand, he had certain hopes about a guarantee of game time, and Tottenham couldn’t give him that.

"And he’s basically had reservations, and now that [Fraser] Forster’s come onto their radar as a new option, it looks like they’re going to go ahead with that one instead of Sam Johnstone."

The Verdict:

With the World Cup coming up later this year, he needs to prioritise game time over anything else and this is why a move to Southampton would be ideal because you would easily see him become first-choice shot-stopper there.

At St Mary's, he would be playing regularly for a reasonably solid top-tier team that don't look like heading back down to the Championship anytime soon and this can only be a good thing for the 29-year-old who will want to settle down somewhere else for the long term.

If he joined United or Spurs, he would be behind the likes of David de Gea and Hugo Lloris in the pecking order and this is why a move to either wouldn't make sense for the England international who is too good not to be starting for a club every week.

If he can win regular game time, that could help to keep him above Dean Henderson in Gareth Southgate's pecking order and he could even overtake Nick Pope with Burnley being relegated to the second tier this month.

This is why he's right to reject a move to the English capital if he is unable to win regular game time, even if there's a tempting wage package on offer for the 29-year-old.