Reason Behind Failed West Bromwich Albion Transfer Revealed

The reason why Flamengo pulled the plug on their potential move for West Bromwich Albion‘s Mikey Johnston has been revealed by a club official. 

The Brazilian side looked on the verge of signing the winger in the summer transfer window, with a £5 million fee reported by outlets such as Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph. However, just days after the potential move was touted, the deal was as good as dead, and the Scottish international ultimately remained at The Hawthorns by the time the window closed in September.

New Reason Revealed

Many explanations were given as to why Flamengo, who are currently three points clear at the top of the Brazilian Serie A, cancelled the deal for Johnston, with one report suggesting that it was the medical team’s concerns as to how many minutes the former Celtic man would play, which led to the club’s president Luiz Eduardo Baptista pulling the plug. An updated report from Anthony Joseph also suggested that it was fan pressure which forced the Rio De Janeiro club to walk away.

Flamengo’s sporting director Jose Boto spoke at the time saying that it was the club’s limit on foreign players and the identification of a better option, who emerged to be Atletico Madrid’s Samuel Lino, was the reason why no move materialised. However, in a new interview on the topic of Johnston to UOL, Boto clarified the position Flamengo had on the deal. (Quotes via Football League World):

“In Mikey’s case, he was one of the players we saw would help the team with things we needed. And his arrival wouldn’t have anything to do with Samuel Lino’s absence; both would have come.

“When you try to make your first purchase, you get hit until you say enough. I also think there was a timing issue, because if it wasn’t the first, if he came in between Saúl and Samuel Lino, the fans might have had a different reaction.

“And I also don’t know if it’s the fans or the press that promotes this among the fans, but it’s also something that doesn’t worry me much. What’s important is whether the players truly have the characteristics that suit the club.”

Writers’ View

It seems that it was indeed fan pressure which brought to an end Mikey Johnston’s move to Flamengo. It is a shame as the Scotsman looked to be excited to move to South America, but he has done brilliantly to put that disappointment behind him to help West Bromwich Albion in the opening games of this season.