West Brom: Missing AC Milan deal proved to be a blessing in disguise: View | OneFootball

Mikey Johnston has been something of a revelation since he made the move to West Brom.

Back in the January transfer window, the winger joined the Baggies on loan from Celtic until the end of the season.

Since then, the 24-year-old has made 15 appearances for Carlos Corberan's side, scoring seven goals - many spectacular - and providing one assists.

As a result, the Republic of Ireland international has played a significant role in helping West Brom to move to within touching distance of securing their place in the Championship play-offs.

However, had things gone differently back in January, there is a chance that Johnston may not have even been at The Hawthorns right now.

West Brom had other January targets

With Johnston only joining West Brom on the final day of the January window, the Baggies were linked with other players before making their move for the Celtic man.

One of those was AC Milan's Chaka Traore, with it being reported that West Brom had agreed a deal to sign the Ivorian on loan from the Italian giants.

Ultimately though, that deal did not go through, with the 19-year-old instead heading to the second-tier of Italian football, where he joined Palermo on a temporary deal.

As is often the case, the fact they were unable to secure a deal for Traore may well have been seen as a setback by those at The Hawthorns.

However, there may now be a strong argument to suggest that missing out on that particular transfer may have actually worked out for the best for West Brom.

Things haven't worked out for Traore

Given the fact that they are both left wingers, there is a chance that had the Baggies brought Traore to The Hawthorns when they had the chance, they would not then have moved for Johnston.

But while the Celtic loanee has since gone on to become a big success for West Brom, the same unfortunately cannot be said of Traore and his stint with Palermo.

Since making his move to the Serie B side, the young winger has rather struggled to make an impact.

So far, Traore has featured just seven times for the club, with only one of those outings coming as a starter.

In that time, he is yet to score or a goal, or provide an assist for the club, and appears to have found it hard to offer any sort of threat to opposition defences.

Consequently, had West Brom completed a deal to bring Traore to the club, and subsequently not signed Johnston, these stats suggest that the Milan loanee would not have had anywhere near as much of an impact for Corberan's side.

That in turn, may have seen them miss out on some important results they have earned thanks to Johnston's contributions. Of course, that could make all the difference when it comes to deciding whether West Brom claim a play-off place this season, and with it, a shot at promotion to the Premier League.

With all that in mind, it could well be argued that missing out on the signing of Traore, and their subsequent move for Johnston, could yet turn out to be a major turning point in West Brom's season, for all the right reasons.