Crystal Palace have shunned a player-plus-cash offer from West Brom for Andy Johnson.
Crystal Palace have reportedly shunned a player-plus-cash offer from West Brom for Andy Johnson.The Baggies have purportedly offered Palace £2 million and Robert Earnshaw to hand Johnson an immediate return to The Premiership.
Johnson impressed during his debut campaign in the top flight, scoring 22 goals in all competitions and earning an England cap.
But his personal haul was not enough to save The Eagles from the drop, with West Brom emerging through Survival Sunday with their Premiership status intact.
Baggies boss Bryan Robson is now keen to buttress his squad in the summer and is rumoured to be willing to offer Johnson a return to the Midlands.
The 24-year-old left Birmingham City for Palace in a £750,000 deal three years ago and he has made stunning progress in the intervening period.
He is unlikely to be short of offers in the summer, with former club Birmingham and Liverpool having been linked with bids.
Palace chairman Simon Jordan, though, insists selling Johnson, even for £15 million, is not on the club's agenda as they look to bounce back into The Premiership immediately.
It is unclear how much the total package of West Brom's offer was, with Earnshaw having moved to The Hawthorns from Cardiff City for £3 million last August.
Earnshaw scored 11 goals in the league during his first season in The Premiership but was demoted to the substitutes' bench as West Brom fought for survival.
Robson clearly feels that Johnson, rather than Earnshaw, offers The Baggies a better chance of avoiding the drop again next season and he has made the opening gambit in the race for the Palace hit-man.
Jordan will be determined to resist all offers for Johnson, who has vowed to stay at Selhurst Park, but it is likely that West Brom's failed bid is only the first of many during the close season.
