Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has urged West Ham to sign Sam Johnstone this summer.
Johnstone, who was recently relegated with West Brom, has been widely tipped to remain in the Premier League after the Baggies’ demise.
Heavily linked with a move for the 28-year-old to offer competition to Lukasz Fabianski for the Hammers number one shirt – David Moyes could turn to the Preston-born shot-stopper in the coming weeks.
Robinson, himself a former top-flight ‘keeper with Leeds United, Tottenham and others, has told Football Insider that Johnstone would be a worthwhile acquisition.
Fabianski has done brilliantly for them over the years but given his age and the stage of his career that he is at, they need to look at a contingency plan. Johnstone is a top, top goalkeeper and he has proved that with his performances this season. Two good English goalkeepers have dropped down to the Championship this year but I’d definitely sign Johnstone ahead of Aaron Ramsdale. Johnstone was put under a lot of pressure this season and even though they were relegated, he showed that he is more than capable of being a Premier League number one.
Albeit unable to prevent a 19th place finish, Johnstone earned an average Sofascore rating of 7.03 in 37 Premier League appearances in 2020/21 – better than Fabianski’s 6.84 rating in 35 outings.
Already an England youth international, the £7.2million valued ace was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 competition on Tuesday.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
It seems highly plausible Johnstone will remain a Premier League player next season after an impressive campaign.
David Moyes must have at least one eye on the goalkeeper position as Fabianski approaches his 37th birthday.
Despite remaining a high performer for the Irons, in the long term, West Ham need a top-class number one and the opportunity to land a ‘keeper entering his prime this summer may be too good to refuse.
