West Brom looking to tie up two deals as players get to work in Austria…
Albion are looking to tie up two big deals this week as Ryan Mason and his troops embark on their Austria training camp.
The Baggies are poised to finalise a £4.7million for Norwegian striker Aune Heggebo from SK Brann in Norway – while heading out the exit door is winger Mikey Johnston.
Republic of Ireland international Johnson is subject of sensational interest from Brazilian giants Flamengo.
The Express & Star exclusively revealed on Saturday that a £5m deal has been agreed for 26-year-old Johnston to move to the Rio de Janeiro club in a high-profile switch.
Initial talks began in recent weeks and Flamengo – who currently top Brazil’s Serie A and play at the national Maracana stadium – tabled their official approach at the end of last week.
Johnston, who only joined Albion in a £3m move from boyhood club Celtic at the end of the summer 2024 window, said his goodbyes to colleagues on Friday and did not jet off with Mason’s squad to Bad Tatzmannsdorf in eastern Austria on Saturday.
He is set to arrive in Brazil in the coming days to finalise a move to Flamengo, who are said to be the most supported club in Brazil with more than 40 million domestic fans.
It is understood the Johnston fee will all be paid and received up front.
Checking into the Baggies, however, is highly-regarded striker Heggebo, 23, who will join popular defender Torbjorn Heggem as Albion’s second Norwegian.
Heggebo – described by his homeland press to the Express & Star as ‘The Hulk’ due to his physicality as well as speed – landed in Austria on Sunday afternoon to begin the final stages of his move.
He did not feature for his club Brann in their domestic league fixture on Saturday after the clubs agreed a price package.
A move could be confirmed in the next couple of days as the striker, who has enjoyed a couple of fine goalscoring campaigns for the club of his home region, joins in Albion training.
Albion, with recruitment overseen by sporting director Andrew Nestor, sought more firepower at the top of the pitch to complement Josh Maja and Daryl Dike, who have both suffered injury issues, and Devante Cole.
Johnston’s impending exit, meanwhile, sees the Baggies bank a profit on the winger after just 12 months even after Celtic pocket a small sell-on clause figure.
His departure boosts the club’s coffers and specifically the books when it comes to profit and sustainability (PSR). The £5m on Johnston is included as one instalment in the books, while a move such as that for Heggebo can be spread over however many years the striker signs a contract for, when it comes to the accounting.
Leave a Reply