West Brom prospect explains summer ‘interest’ from a ‘few’ clubs before Baggies switch
West Brom goalkeeper Joe Wallis has said he had ‘interest’ from a ‘few clubs’ over the summer.
West Brom landed the stopper back in early September after he caught their eye on trial.
Wallis, 19, penned a two-year contract with the Championship side running until June 2026 and has initially linked up with their development squad, with the option of a further 12 months on top of that.
He has talked about how the move came around and has said, as per the official club website: “I was sitting on my bed in Samoa with the U20 New Zealand team – we were doing our OFC qualifiers there – when I got a phone call from my old goalkeeper coach about some interest in me from a few clubs in the UK.
“He said the agent had sorted a few things out for me to go over and trial and asked if I wanted to go. I was shocked, but I got off my bed, rang my mum and dad and said I could go and trial for some clubs which, at the time, I didn’t know who they were.
“But me and my family decided to go for it and found out West Brom was the main club that was interested. So I got back from the qualifiers, packed my stuff, flew to the UK – literally 30 hours worth of travel – got settled in with a host family for my trial and it went well.
“This was around July/August so I played in an 18s game, a 21s match in pre-season, and then Boaz Myhill called me on the bus back from Leicester saying they wanted to sign me. That’s how it all came about so it’s an interesting story and I’m happy to be at this club.”
