Southampton ruled out of West Brom player swoop as summer saga takes new twist

West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone, looks unlikely to join Southampton on a free transfer this summer. 

The England international goalkeeper has allowed his contract with West Brom to run down and it’s widely expected that he will be leaving for the Premier League as a free agent.

However, his destination doesn’t look like it will be Southampton.

As per Tom Barclay on Twitter, there was interest in the West Brom goalkeeper from Southampton, but a move is unlikely, despite the fact that Fraser Forster looks set to be on the move to Tottenham – another club, coincidently, linked with Johnstone. 

Tottenham are looking to wrap up a free transfer for Fraser Forster, which leaves a question mark around Sam Johnstone's future. Southampton were interested in the West Brom keeper, who is out of contract next month, but I'm told that move is unlikely

— Tom Barclay (@TomBarclay_) May 23, 2022

As it is, then, it’s unclear where Johnstone will be playing his football next season as he bids to keep his England hopes alive heading into the World Cup later on in 2022.

The 29-year-old made 36 appearances for West Brom last season, with the Baggies eventually drifting to mid-table under Steve Bruce.

However, as it became apparent that Johnstone would be moving on in the summer, Bruce opted not to select the goalkeeper as he looked ahead to 2022/23.

The Verdict 

We are still very early in the summer and it’s not like Johnstone is a poor goalkeeper that nobody is going to want.

It seems that Southampton have now joined Tottenham in snubbing that opportunity, though, which means that we will be waiting a little bit longer to see where Johnstone ends up.

The saga goes on a touch further, then, with other clubs surely interested in