How Ryan Mason feels about Mikey Johnston at West Brom after failed Flamengo move | OneFootball

The winger was close to a move to South America before it all fell apart.

Mikey Johnston is set to be an important player in Ryan Mason's West Bromwich Albion plans following the breakdown in his move to Flamengo.

A year on from making his move to The Hawthorns permanent, Johnston looked all set to head across the world to start a new chapter of his footballing career in Flamengo.

They were set to spend £5 million on the 26-year-old, who the Baggies bought from Celtic for £3 million in the last summer window.

Everything was moving in the right direction for the move to go through. That money could have proved very useful for West Brom, whose owner, Shilen Patel, admitted that they wouldn't have plentiful financial resources to utilise this summer.

The deal has since collapsed. It was initially reported in Brazil that fan backlash was the main driver behind Flamengo's decision to retract their interest in the winger. Latterly, the club's technical director, Jose Boto, claimed that a "better option" popped up, and that there were worries over the number of foreign players they would have in their squad.

Mikey Johnston set for key West Brom role after failed Flamengo move

Johnston wasn't able to recapture the form that he initially showed in his loan spell from Celtic in the 2023/24 campaign. That half-season period saw him net seven goals in just 18 appearances, many of them being his trademark cut-inside, bending finish into the far corner. The Irishman only managed to score three times last term, but did assist on five occasions.

He's more than capable of effecting play in the Championship, a view that the new Albion boss shares as he believes Johnston will be a key part of his plans, according to Sky Sports.

No team has tried to test West Brom's willingness to let go of him since the collapse of the Flamengo deal, but Mason appears to be set on keeping Johnston around.

West Brom have to be open to winger sales

With the position that Albion are in, with regard to Profit & Sustainability Rules and general available funds, they can't completely rule out the possibility of letting him leave, especially for a decent fee.

Any sale of Tom Fellows, who is being looked at again by Everton, could relieve the pressure on Mason to let go of a player that he supposedly considers "key". Fellows certainly would be too, but it won't be easy to hold onto the winger for too much longer if the Premier League interest in him ramps up.