West Brom loan star Mikey Johnston has paid tribute to the club and Albion fans on social media as he returns to parent club Celtic.
In a post on Instagram [22 May], Johnston describes West Brom as “an amazing club” although says he wished things towards the end were different as the Baggies lost out to Southampton in the Championship play-off semi-finals.
Johnston is among a quartet of loan players leaving The Hawthorns along with Andreas Weimann, Callum Marshall and Pipa following confirmation of the club’s retained list.
The 25-year-old winger’s social media post read: “I wish it could’ve finished differently but still such a happy period of my career.
“An amazing club with such good people. Thank you for everything, WBA, and to the fans for the unbelievable support you’ve given myself and the team all season.”
Mikey Johnston’s West Brom impact
Johnston turned out to become a vital player for Carlos Corberan when he arrived on loan from Celtic on January deadline day.
The Irish international maintained an impressive average Sofascore rating of 7.18 during his short stint in the West Midlands, gaining fans’ adulation from his seven goals and two assists in 17 starts.
The club themselves praised Johnston’s “positive impact” when bidding their farewell, as the winger now looks to solidify more of a starting place in Brendan Rodgers’ remarkable Celtic team.
These few months have been the player’s first experience in English football, one which he looked to take to like a duck to water having already broadened his horizons with Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes last season.
It remains to be seen whether Albion will continue any talks with Johnston’s representatives regarding a permanent move, but for now it looks as if he will join a considerable number of players through the exit door.
In other West Brom news, one key Baggies player has been called up by his nation for Euro 2024.