---
title: "Virals: West Ham are the preferred destination for Sam Johnstone"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2021/05/04/virals-west-ham-are-the-preferred-destination-for-sam-johnstone/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Dan Clubbe"
section: "West Ham News"
published: "2021-05-04T18:00:00Z"
modified: "2021-05-04T18:00:00Z"
---

# Virals: West Ham are the preferred destination for Sam Johnstone

[West Ham](https://readwestham.com/2021/05/04/virals-incredible-tomas-soucek-stat-emerges-on-twitter/) are the preferred destination for West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

Amid [interest from Manchester United](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/soccer-transfers/story/4377119/man-united-eye-west-broms-johnstone-as-de-gea-replacement-sources) manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer to take the 28-year-old back to Old Trafford where he [started](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sam-johnstone/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/110864) his career, it is believed Johnstone would prefer to link up with David Moyes.

That’s according to a report from [Daily Star Sport](https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/sam-johnstone-de-gea-replacement-24035055), as cited by [West Ham Central](https://twitter.com/WestHam_Central/status/1389567634996334595) on Twitter.

> Twitter: Solskjaer’s preference is to sign former United academy graduate Sam Johnstone this summer but the West Brom star i… https://t.co/TQb5f0AQf1 (@WestHam\_Central)

Despite being seemingly doomed to [relegation](https://www.premierleague.com/tables) the Baggies’ struggles this season haven’t extended to Johnstone, who has remained an impressive figure for Sam Allardyce’s side.

Across 33 Premier League outings the [England youth international](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sam-johnstone/nationalmannschaft/spieler/110864/verein_id/3299) has earned an impressive average [Sofascore rating of 7.08](https://www.sofascore.com/player/sam-johnstone/98427) with recent ratings above 8.00 in the last two fixtures.

### READ WEST HAM VERDICT

Signing a goalkeeper may not feature as a priority for Moyes this summer given [Lukasz Fabianski](https://readwestham.com/2021/04/28/virals-david-moyes-and-lukasz-fabianski-claim-awards/)‘s continued longevity.

However, if the Hammers are going to delve into the market for a stopper then Johnstone would be a safe bet.

Fabianski, who has [averaged 6.82 with Sofascore](https://www.sofascore.com/player/lukasz-fabianski/15479) this season, will [turn 37](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/lukasz-fabianski/profil/spieler/29692) before the end of the 2021/22 campaign and recent [injuries](https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2021/march/05-march/team-news-moyes-offers-fabianski-and-randolph-updates) to both the Pole and Darren Randolph suggest a reliable understudy is required at the very least.

[Valued at just £5.4m](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sam-johnstone/marktwertverlauf/spieler/110864#:~:text=all%20players%20worldwide-,With%20a%20market%20value%20of%20%C2%A35.40m%2C%20Sam%20Johnstone,worldwide%20playing%20as%20%22Goalkeeper%22.), signing Johnstone would allow Moyes the freedom to bolster his squad in multiple areas.