West Brom delivered a perfect reaction to their recent setback on Tuesday night.
After Friday’s loss at home to Southampton, the Baggies made the long trip to Home Park to face Plymouth Argyle.
There, Carlos Corberan‘s side produced an excellent performance. After a goalless first half, three second half strikes secured a 3-0 win for the visitors.
As a result, West Brom have cemented their spot in the Championship’s top six for the time being.
One man who certainly impressed in that win at Home Park, was Mikey Johnston.
A big impact off the bench from Mikey Johnston
The final day of the winter transfer saw Johnston join West Brom on loan from Celtic.
Since making that move to The Hawthorns, the winger has featured regularly for Carlos Corberan’s side.
But after starting the last two games, he dropped to the bench for the clash with the Pilgrims. With West Brom leading 1-0, Johnston was brought on with around 20 minutes of normal time remaining.
Five minutes after his introduction, the winger produced a stunning strike, cutting inside two opposition defenders before curling into the top corner, to double his side’s lead.
Johnston would then also go on to play an important role in the creation of Tom Fellows’ goal that made it 3-0, and sealed all three points for West Brom.
That performance was enough to see the Celtic loanee given a rating of 8/10 for his display against Plymouth Argyle, by the Express and Star.
According to SofaScore meanwhile, Johnston got on the scoresheet, despite reaching an xG of just 0.03 in the match.
It is not only in that respect where the winger was very efficient. The West Brom man also successfully completed his one dribble from the game, and won all three duels he was involved in.
Although he had a pass success rate of 60% (3/5), he was also able to record one key pass during his time on the pitch.
As a result, this does seem to highlight one bit of business West Brom must do once the summer transfer window opens.
West Brom should target permanent Mikey Johnston deal
Things have been rather quiet in the transfer window for the Baggies this season.
Under the ownership of Guochuan Lai, West Brom did not spend any money on transfer fees in either the summer or winter markets during the current campaign.
Last week though, saw confirmation that Shilen Patel has completed his takeover of the club from Lai.
There will likely therefore be an expectation that West Brom will invest more in the window going forward. If that is the case, a permanent deal for Johnston could be an excellent place to start.
With impacts such as the one he made against Plymouth on Tuesday, it is Johnston would be a popular and effective member of the squad if he stays beyond the summer.
Indeed, at just 24-years-old, that is a job the winger could do for West Brom for a long time to come.
It is also worth noting Johnston started just three league games for Celtic this season before his loan.
That suggests he may not be in the plans of his parent club. They too may therefore be open to doing a deal, giving West Brom the chance to negotiate an agreement, with the funds the takeover should give them.
Considering he ought to be enjoying his time with the Baggies, you feel Johnston would be willing to agree that deal as well.
As a result, it seems that an extended stay at The Hawthorns for Johnston, is something West Brom should already be planning for ahead of the summer.