00:00Hello, welcome to Expressenstar.com for this West Bromwich Albion update alongside Mr.
00:12Lewis Cox after the stunning news last night and stunning confirmation this morning from
00:19our very own Lewis Cox that Mikey Johnson, the magic man, is returning to West Brom.
00:25He's undergoing a medical this morning at Albion ahead of a £3m move back to the Hawthorns
00:35on a long-term contract. The man who lit up the Hawthorns last season, it looked impossible
00:40to bring him back, but given the outgoings this summer and the financial work that has
00:44been done by the new owners, Albion are bringing last season's lone star back.
00:49Coxy, the man who broke the exclusive last night, we sort of knew about this sort of
00:54middle of the day yesterday and were sort of waiting for it to be sort of sourced.
00:59We had to be coy on the podcast, didn't we, Jonny?
01:02We did, we kind of did. A little bit of an inside. We knew on the podcast. Coxy even
01:06spoke about how good Mikey Johnson could be for Shelley United on the podcast yesterday.
01:11I was extremely clear to make known my admiration for him and how good I thought he was and
01:21is, but yeah, he isn't and was never going to Bramall Lane.
01:26No, he's going back to the Hawthorns. But Coxy, Albion, it looked like the business
01:32was almost done. It was going to be a striker. As it is, it's a left winger, but what a left
01:36winger and, you know, what a way to, if this is the end of the transfer window, what a
01:40way to end the transfer window for Albion.
01:42Yeah, we expect it to be the end of the transfer window, Jonny. That's not an absolute definite,
01:48but the club envisage as it stands with Mikey through the door, no more additions. The way
01:54that could change is if there's a major, you know, senior departure, which again, the club
02:00don't foresee, they don't anticipate, they, you know, obviously we know what's gone on
02:05the last few days. They don't want to engage in any possible interest in Tom Fellows. They're
02:09not looking to sell him. We reported last night that the Tom Fellows, you know, interest
02:15talk rumor is totally separate from Johnson and that being financed. So yeah, I suppose
02:21the good news, if we can call it good news, selfishly, is that deadline day tomorrow could
02:26be a little quiet, Jonny, which is never a bad thing if the business is done to not leave
02:31things to the last day. But yeah, what a, what a deal for Albion. I mean, I couldn't
02:37be more of a fan of Johnson, really what he did. We'll get into it more, but you know,
02:44the first weeks of his loan, but really for me, the whole loan, what he showed throughout,
02:49you know, he was so committed for a loan. The relationship he had with Carlos was massive
02:55and that's why there's been a chance of this. This is, you know, without Carlos Corcoran,
02:59this doesn't happen. Mikey Johnson towards the end of the season into the playoffs, certainly
03:06played through the pain barrier where he was struggling in training with issues and kept
03:11going. He scored, what did he score? Six and six, seven and seven. Some are crazy worldies
03:18every week. I think we said at the time, didn't we look, Mikey Johnson isn't going to carry
03:23on at this rate. It's not going to be 12 and 12, 13 and 13, 14, 14. He's a winger. So this
03:28idea that like the lone tail, the way I just don't buy at all. I mean, you were at Hillsborough
03:35with me, Johnny, at the end of last season when it was terrible. But Mikey Johnson turned
03:39up that day. He was the only one in Albion colours, dragging the team up the pitch, beating
03:44players. Yeah, I just don't huge fan of his. And yeah, I mean, there's been all summer.
03:57It was clear that Celtic wanted to ideally sell Johnson, academy graduate for a long
04:02time ago, had a great loan now to up his value interest from the continent, really. And certainly
04:09strong championship interest. You know, we know about Sheffield United and obviously
04:12Burnley who were both desperate. But Albion have been able to make it work, make the finances
04:18work, the personal relationships they've been able to use to get it done. And yeah, as we
04:23record just after 10 o'clock this morning, the medicals going on as we speak. No issues
04:29there. Although I do gather Mikey badly injured his eye last week. I think possibly did his
04:34eye socket in training or playing for Celtic. So we could even see him in a mask, possibly.
04:41No, like a Zorro style second debut for the magic man. But we'll see on that. And again,
04:48whether formalities and confirmation of today, if there's no hiccups, I don't see. I don't
04:53see why not. So hopefully we'll get that today. And we've got a press conference with Carlos
04:57in the morning to ask all things about that. And it's just mass massive news for fans,
05:01isn't it? They're rightly delighted by this. Albion's biggest deal of the summer,
05:0710th new recruit this summer, the final recruit this summer as it stands. By some way,
05:13the biggest outlay in terms of a transfer fee, you know, that three million fee is something
05:17that I think really made everyone, I suppose, who follows and connected with Albion sit up
05:22and take notes and think, wow, you know, that's that's a serious backing of the head coach.
05:26That's serious work by the ownership. Obviously, they'll have done it. You know, there's no way
05:33the club will be put in any sort of FFP risk with this. You know, there's no PSR issues as
05:39the deal wouldn't have happened. You know, the the EFL wouldn't have allowed it to start with.
05:45And Bilco wouldn't have sanctioned it. So, you know, it's it's an incredible deal for Albion
05:52and very excited by it, as I'm sure most are, if not all. Yeah, no, they are. In terms of,
05:59you know, we've had a lot of tweets in the last 12 hours, 24 hours, about 12 hours really since
06:05the news came out or since we broke the news saying, you know, we need a striker. We don't
06:10need a winger. It's a good signing, but needed a striker. You know, we've we talked about this
06:17off pod. If Albion don't bring in a striker between now and the end of the window, which
06:21is unlikely, really, because unlikely to happen given this deal's gone through.
06:27You know, you look at the backup options. Now, obviously, Grant is a striker. Carlos kind of
06:32doesn't, but he can fit into the role of a backup striker. Jed Wallace plays up front and did do
06:38successfully, you know, towards the end of last season or the second half of last season.
06:43You've got Maggia. I think Mo Favre probably stayed in the building now, potentially.
06:48Well, Devante Cole, Johnny.
06:49Devante Cole as well. And you've got Lewis Dobbin, who can play up front and did play up front on his
06:55home debut and has been utilised as a striker before. So, there are options there. You were
07:01preferring...
07:01DK, Johnny, obviously, or DK.
07:04DK as well is sort of a different conversation in terms of his injury, but he will be back,
07:09you know, in the not-too-distant future. But the options are there. So, I think, you know,
07:15if you would have offered us Mikey Johnson for £3 million or a, I don't know, lower-end
07:21challenging striker, you'd have taken Mikey Johnson over Simon Stryker any day of the week.
07:26Yeah. Yeah, I think, just quickly, there's a chance Falford still go out,
07:30so I gather, but you're right, if the club were really bothered or worried about that depth and
07:35competition, you know, he's an option that could stay around, isn't it? But, you know, the likelihood
07:39is he wouldn't be in the matchday 20. So, kind of, what's the point? Yeah, all of those names
07:45you mentioned, absolutely, you know, if needed, can do a job, you know. Hopefully, ideally not.
07:50You know, obviously, there's a lot of, you know, unknowns, I suppose, with Josh Maggia and him
07:57staying fit, yeah, after last season, but that's the hope. The expectation is he's, sort of,
08:02come back from last season strong and look how he started the season. Obviously, Cole's come in as
08:08competition depth, you know, not exactly proven at this level by any stretch, but he's someone
08:12that can clearly do a job if required as a body. And you've mentioned, everyone else, Johnny,
08:17there, that the wider players who can go in there, I mean, Grady's played, I know Grady's injured
08:21with the shoulder, but he's played a full nine, hasn't he, at times. None of these are ideals,
08:26but they're options, you know. And Dal Dike is ahead of schedule, which is very promising. I
08:32think set to join in some sort of team training within the month, really, which is, you know,
08:38say by the end of this time next month, October, which is great going. And I know, you know,
08:43absolutely, there can be no relying on Dike. I get that with his situation, but when he comes
08:49back and if he stays fit, and that's a big if, then certainly a body and potentially a fine
08:55option on Albion's hands, isn't it? So, yeah, you're right. And things aren't always that sort
08:59of cut and dry, are they? Just because, you know, the club made three million work to sign Johnson,
09:04to match Burnley's bid and to get it done, does not necessarily mean that that three million would
09:10have been there to go on the striker, you know, because that right striker profile might not be
09:16out there for that money when, okay, if he comes in, what about Madger? You know, does the two
09:22million striker start over Madger or not type thing. So, you're right, Johnny, that the calibre
09:28profile of the striker could have been, you know, a Premier League loan. I mean, there's been one or
09:34two wild names linked over the last 24 hours. I don't know. It could be a young player who's a bit
09:39of an unknown. That wouldn't have been ideal, would it? I don't think in my eyes. And yeah,
09:44an Asante replacement was always obviously kind of on the head coach's radar, and that's what he
09:49said to us. But he always, I think I said on the podcast yesterday, Johnny, well, I certainly said
09:54that we understood a wide player was an option, but Corbijn always kind of was coy and leaving
10:01the door open and saying, look, let's see what the market can allow us to do type thing about
10:05other positions. And obviously now it's clear that he was referring to wide position with Johnson.
10:11And once he was available for Albin to act on and the finances worked, then there was only one
10:17decision for Corbijn, and that was to bring the Republic of Ireland international back in.
10:23Let's say a four-year deal, a real home for him now. He's only ever known Celtic, hasn't he,
10:28in terms of academy, graduate, knows the club, obviously knows the head coach, knows the fans,
10:34training ground. Everything should be seamless. You know, that's the hope. And it's going to be
10:38fascinating, isn't it? You know, we've already had debates about Wallace. Obviously, Grady's picked
10:43up the injury, but Dobbin is a natural left-sided player. So we know our fellows have started the
10:48season on the other flank. It's suddenly become a very, very exciting, the exciting, exciting
10:57flair, creative line, that sort of front line behind the centre forward for Albin.
11:01And I'm really looking forward to seeing it in action. And it'll be lovely if you can get a sort
11:05of home reception, home bow, won't it, on Saturday against Swansea. I mean, I'm not ruling out,
11:12assuming it's confirmed today and in time, a start, but maybe from the benches more likely,
11:16I don't know. But yeah, it's been a great deal for the club. This is a huge coup
11:24statement, isn't it? Even a PR statement that they've been able to make it work and beating
11:29serious rivals to the jump on it. You know, Burnley were very, you know, fought hard for him,
11:34as did Sheffield United. You know, Scott Parker was really, really keen to get him in and
11:39you know, credit Albin for beating off that kind of competition, you know, because the likes of
11:45Burnley, you look at them and think they're surely almost borderline guaranteed to be
11:50fighting those automatic spots, aren't they? And here are Albin making their case.
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