West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has revealed his desire to play Premier League football again.
Johnstone, 28, featured with the Baggies in the top flight last season under Slaven Bilic and Sam Allardyce.
However, the club were relegated back to the Championship after only one season in the country’s premier division.
“There was a lot of talk in the summer. It [a transfer] just didn’t happen and we are focused on doing our best to get promoted back up this year,” Johnstone said, via Express & Star.
“I see the speculation and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s out of my control but I want to be back playing in the Premier League.”
Johnstone’s contract with the club expires at the end of the season and he has been linked with a move to a number of Premier League clubs this January, including Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Johnstone has appeared 24 times in the Championship this season. Valerien Ismael’s side are chasing automatic promotion, which the wantaway goalkeeper is still giving everything to try to secure for the club.
West Brom are fourth in the table. The Baggies are six points adrift of their rivals Fulham and have even played a game more than Marco Silva’s side.
Ismael’s side are winless in three league games, last tasting victory on December 11 after beating Reading 1-0. Since then they have dropped points against Barnsley, Derby County and Cardiff City, who are all fighting at the bottom of the table with an average position of 22nd.
West Brom next face a trip to Queens Park Rangers, who are fifth in the table, only one point behind Ismael’s side. The two face each other on January 15.
The Verdict
It is disappointing for Johnstone that a move never materalised in the Summer. When Aaron Ramsdale has done so well having moved from Sheffield United to Arsenal, it makes that disappointment even greater.
Both goalkeepers were relegated last season and both were rumoured to be moving to the Premier League, but only Ramsdale did and he is now among the most highly rated in the division.
Johnstone has his own future in his own gloves due to the upcoming expiration of his contract, but he will need to keep performing for West Brom to prove himself to any potential suitors.