Mikey Johnston sends 5-word message to Alex Mowatt after leaving West Brom for Derby | OneFootball

The Irishman's midfield colleague swapped West Midlands for East Midlands earlier this week

West Bromwich Albion winger, Mikey Johnston, has been amongst the names reacting to Alex Mowatt's departure from The Hawthorns as the experienced midfielder joined divisional rivals, Derby County.

That said, both clubs endured contrasting starts to their Championship seasons, with West Brom putting last season's woes away from B71 behind them to defeat Norwich City 2-1 at Carrow Road, including a controversial opening goal from Aune Heggebo.

However, Derby have had a mixed start to August, which included seeing Saudi Arabian boxing tycoon, Turki Alalshikh, pull out of a takeover bid which had already been ratified by the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator, whilst on the pitch, John Eustace's side have suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats in the EFL Cup and then the second tier against Lincoln City and Charlton Athletic.

The Rams, before the season got underway, had been heavily fancied to achieve a top-eight finish, particularly if investment from Alalshikh opened the door for a strong recruitment drive up to the 11PM deadline on September 1st.

However, Mowatt is only the fifth arrival at Pride Park so far this transfer window after penning a two-year contract in DE24 after the two Midlands sides agreed an undisclosed fee.

Naturally, there have been mixed reactions to the deal from supporters of Derby and West Brom, but the Doncaster-born man has certainly left B71 with plenty of well-wishes from his now-former colleagues.

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Mowatt had spent the past five years as an Albion player, initially following his former Barnsley boss, Valerien Ismael, to The Hawthorns in 2021, although the Frenchman couldn't replicate his prior success at Oakwell in the West Midlands.

The former Leeds United man has since become a mainstay in the side under a plethora of managers, and produced a number of key performances towards the end of last season to ensure survival under James Morrison.

In his final season in B71, Mowatt produced one Championship goal and four assists, which helped take his overall Albion record to 14 goals and 13 assists in 170 appearances across all competitions, before making his Derby debut with a 36-minute cameo on Saturday.

Issuing an Instagram post on his departure, the midfielder said: "I would like to thank everyone involved at @WBA for everything over the last 5 years. Through all the ups and downs, I’ve genuinely enjoyed every moment and made memories that will stay with me forever.

"I’ve met some unbelievable people along the way — teammates, staff and people behind the scenes who have made my time at the club so special," he added.

@wba all the best for the future, what a club!! Thankyou baggies."

Amongst those in the replies was Johnston, who commented: "All the best my boy."

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Unsurprisingly, it was an emotional farewell for Mowatt, but his departure also comes after a major reshuffle in midfield by Morrison, as well as continuing a trend where long-serving players have moved on to pastures new.

West Brom's two latest additions have come in the middle of the park also, with Felix Horn Myhre already impressing, whilst Rabby Nzingoula's move from RC Strasbourg was also confirmed just hours after Football League World broke the club's interest in the highly-rated 20-year-old.

The latter came on for the Norwegian after 68 minutes at Carrow Road on Saturday, and there will be plenty of hope that either, or both, can link up well with Ousmane Diakite.

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Throughout his spell as a Championship manager, Eustace has often recruited players with strong Championship experience, and Mowatt is someone who brings exactly that, as well as high-level technical ability.

Therefore, with options lacking in certain areas of the pitch, the 31-year-old's service in open play and dead-ball situations could lead to a glut of goals from the likes of Carlton Morris and USMNT international, Patrick Agyemang, when he recovers from an achilles problem.