West Brom fans will no doubt be taking a fair amount of interest in the latest comments from Brendan Rodgers.
The Celtic manager has been speaking about the impact that Mikey Johnston has had, since moving to The Hawthorns on loan in the January transfer window.
Having made that move, the 24-year-old has produced some spectacular form for Carlos Corberan‘s side.
He has so far scored six goals and provided one assist in just ten appearances for West Brom.
That has helped the Baggies to establish themselves in 5th place in the Championship table. They therefore look well set to qualify for the play-offs come the end of this season.
Now it seems as though that has certainly impressed his manager back at Celtic, leaving him with something to think about for the summer transfer window.
Brendan Rodgers on Mikey Johnston future
With Johnston now impressing during his time on loan at West Brom, that form has caught the eye of Rodgers.
The Celtic boss has seemingly never doubted the ability that the winger possesses. As a result, Rodgers now seemingly believes he may have a call to make about the future of the 24-year-old at the end of the season.
Asked what he makes of Johnston’s form at West Brom, Rodgers told football.Scotland:
“Brilliant. I’ve said before about Mikey’s talent. He has been here a long time. Listen the shirt is a different weight of shirt when you leave here. But Mikey has always shown the talent.
“He has had a number of years where he has picked up lots of injuries and he needed to get a run of games. I spoke to him in the summer when he was looking to go on loan and I said stay and get your training right because you’ve not had a period of training consistently never mind playing games.
“He was able to do that then he featured in some games for us and once he trained and featured it was then about getting him game time. He has gone and done fantastic and shown the talent everyone knows he has. Hopefully he continues with that and then we can look at it again in the summer.”
Johnston has around two years remaining on his contract with Celtic. That secures his future in Glasgow until the end of the 2025/26 season.
Brendan Rodgers comments frustrating for West Brom
It is hard to imagine these being the sort of comments those around The Hawthorns would have wanted to hear.
There can be no denying that Johnston has been outstanding since he joined the Baggies back at the turn of the year.
Many connected with West Brom, would therefore have hoped to see him remain with the club beyond the end of his loan deal.
However, judging by these comments, it seems Johnston’s form in the Championship, could tempt Rodgers to give him another chance at Celtic.
Obviously then, this would be disappointing for West Brom. But given his contract situation at Celtic, the Scottish champions are still very much in control of his future.
As a result, the Baggies may have to come up with a big offer to bring him back to The Hawthorns this summer.
It is also interesting to note that these comments appear to suggest a different stance, to how it has been suggested Celtic supporters might feel about the winger.
With all that in mind, this is surely a situation West Brom will want to keep a close eye on over the coming months.