Valerien set to trigger departure of big guns
NEW West Brom boss Valerien Ismael admits he expects Sam Johnstone and Matheus Pereira to leave The Hawthorns.
The 45-year-old believes he will have to mount a promotion challenge without them after the Baggies were relegated from the Premier League last season.
Goalkeeper Johnstone and forward Pereira were the two stand-out performers in Albion’s dismal season as they finished second bottom.
Both players are expected to command big fees, especially Pereira after his haul of 11 goals and six assists in the top flight last term.
Former Baggies boss Sam Allardyce believes he has the potential to become ‘‘a top player in the Premier League’’.
Johnstone, linked with West Ham and Arsenal, has been away with England after being selected for Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad, while Pereira is back in training with the Baggies, but Ismael is not preparing to work with them for long.
He said: “It’s not a secret, Sam Johnstone and Matheus Pereira are the two players who can leave. It’s my expectation they will leave.
“I don’t need the best players, I need the right players and even if they leave we will find the right solution.
“After I signed I had some video calls with all the players and it was the first time I spoke with Matheus, we spoke openly about the situation.
“I don’t have a problem. It’s very simple, you are in or you are out. But,
if you are in, you are 100 per cent. At the minute he is 100 per cent focused and I can’t say anything else.
“We will see (with Johnstone). As soon as he’s finished (at the Euros) we will see. I hope for everyone it will be very long until he comes back. At the minute the focus is on the Euros for him. We are really proud. We’ll have a talk when he comes back.”
Ismael is Albion’s sixth boss in four years after he left Barnsley last month having taken the Tykes to a surprise fifth in the Championship, losing to
Swansea in the play-offs. The Frenchman is keen to instil a new identity at Albion after signing a four-year deal.
He said: “It’s all about consistency, if you look at the top clubs in England the managers have worked for many years – (Pep) Guardiola, (Jurgen) Klopp, (Mauricio) Pochettino when he was at Tottenham. The first thing is you need to win but all have an identity and you need time to implement that to start to win games.”
Ismael confirmed former Reading chief executive Ron Gourlay will be advising Albion’s transfer committee.
Gourlay, who also counts Chelsea among his former clubs, is playing a part in the Baggies’ transfer dealings this summer along with chief executive Xu Ke – also known as Ken – and head of recruitment Ian Pearce.
Albion are expecting a busy transfer window and Ismael has already made one signing in the form of Alex Mowatt, who captained his Barnsley side to the play-offs.
“We are close with Ken, Ian Pearce and Ron Gourlay,’’ said Ismael. “We are working very close together. It’s the new way the club wanted and it’s exactly what I want.”