Tottenham: £30k-a-week star was 'very close' to joining at Hotspur Way

Tottenham look set to miss out on Sam Johnstone after failing to give him assurances about his playing time next season, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

Johnstone has previously looked likely to move to Hotspur Way this summer, but that is no longer the case.

Spurs emerged as the frontrunners to sign Johnstone on a free transfer earlier this month, as reported by The Mirror, with his contract at West Brom expiring next month.

The north London club wanted the 6 foot 4 ace to provide competition for first-choice shot-stopper Hugo Lloris next term.

However, Spurs appear to have had a change of heart, and The Athletic has reported that they have now set their sights on bringing in Fraser Forster when his deal at Southampton ends in June.

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Jones has confirmed that Johnstone was close to agreeing terms with Tottenham, but they could not guarantee that he would play regularly next season.

This left the £30,000-a-week goalkeeper having doubts about a potential switch, and the Premier League outfit have now opted to move for Forster instead.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “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 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.”

Johnstone is five years younger than Forster, so it could be argued that he has more time to improve his game and develop into a better goalkeeper.

However, Forster has impressed in the second half