After many twists and turns in the saga, West Bromwich Albion have beaten Championship rivals Burnley and Sheffield United to the signing of Celtic winger Mikey Johnston.
Albion cashed in on Brandon Thomas-Asante, Conor Townsend and Okay Yokuslu this summer; but with a seven-figure bid now accepted for Johnston, they have also been ambitious in the market.
Johnston had a spell-binding impact on loan at Albion in the second half of the 2023/24 season, scoring seven Championship goals to help propel Carlos Corberan’s side into a play-off spot, with Tom Fellows giving them another dynamic and tricky option down the opposing flank.
The Irishman made 15 league starts on the left wing for the Baggies, scoring an impressive seven goals to help the side reach the Championship play-offs. His performances in the second tier last season made him a fan favourite at the Hawthorns.
According to the Express & Star’s Lewis Cox, Johnston was to pick between the Baggies and the Clarets after they were given permission to talk personal terms with the 25-year-old wide player. They were not the only second tier sides chasing him, with Alan Nixon revealing that Sheffield United agreed a deal worth around £2.5 million for Johnston.
The West Brom reaction to signing Mikey Johnston
Johnston will always have been on West Brom’s list of wanted players ahead of the summer transfer window opening, but finances have been tight under new owner Shilen Patel, who is still feeling the pinch from the decisions of previous owner Guochuan Lai.
As per Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports earlier in August, Albion are on course to breach PSR rules, so must agree to deals with the EFL on future transfer prices and wage costs. In the end, they won the race, with the Express & Star reporting that the Baggies are re-signing him for around £3 million.
West Brom brought in no fewer than 11 new signings, but Johnston may be the most exciting and popular of all. FLW’s West Brom fan pundit Matt Smith is thrilled to have him back, and hopes Johnston can be the difference this season.
He said: “I think Johnston’s arrival will have a massive impact.
“I don’t know if it will be as big of an impact as last year, because he was huge in getting us up into the play-offs.
“But his arrival has already had a positive effect on the fans, helping to improve the feel good factor around the club.
“Also on the pitch, we’ve lost Matt Phillips, and we had lost Johnston himself before he came back.
“We had our hands forced to play Karlan Grant in wide areas and Lewis Dobbin as well.
“Johnston has shown much more than both of those two in that position during his time at Albion.
“Dobbin has only just got here, but my feelings on Grant have been pretty clear, so I think Johnston can have a big impact as he did last year.
“Delighted he’s back, and I think he wants to be here, which is great.
“He could be huge. I think, maybe, he could be the difference, whether that’s winning the play-offs or making the play-offs.
“He could be the difference in us being able to mount a promotion push.”
