West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone could be on his way out of The Hawthorns next summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that Southampton's priority at the end of the current season will be the signing of a new goalkeeper, with the Premier League side believed to have identified the West Brom shot-stopper as one of their top targets.

The report goes on to state that, despite reports suggesting Albion are planning to offer the 28-year-old a new contract - something which Valerien Ismael has confirmed the club are in talks with the 'keeper about - as the England international's current deal at the Championship side is due to expire next summer, there has been no agreement reached at present.

Ismael will be gutted

While the possibility of Johnstone going on to put pen to paper on a new deal with West Brom remains a very real one, it is undeniable that the interest of a Premier League side could well influence the goalkeeper's decision regarding his future at The Hawthorns, with his potential departure, particularly on a free transfer, sure to leave Ismael gutted.

Indeed, Johnstone was one of the club's standout performers over his 37 Premier League appearances for Albion last season, with the £7.2m-rated man keeping six clean sheets, as well as making a highly impressive average of 4.5 saves per game.

These metrics saw the player Sam Allardyce dubbed a "magnificent" talent earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as the club's second-best performer in the top flight last term.

The £28k-per-week 'keeper has also impressed over his four Championship appearances for the Baggies so far this season, keeping two clean sheets and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.83.

As such, it is not a difficult argument to make that losing the services of the 28-year-old for nothing next summer would be something of a disaster for Ismael, as, should Albion go on to secure promotion to the Premier League come next May, losing Johnstone would undoubtedly be a huge blow to the chances of the club remaining a top-flight side upon their return to the top table.

In other news: £2.7m-rated West Brom ace drops worrying injury update, Valerien Ismael will be fuming