Unlike their last season in the Championship, Aston Villa have started the 2017-18 campaign in the English second division in a decent manner as they have collected 22 points from their first 13 games. During the summer transfer window, manager Steve Bruce roped some quality names to his side and it would not be absurd to underline fact that the new signings have been pretty productive so far.
One of the players they lured to the Villa Park in the summer was Sam Johnstone. The custodian was signed on a season-long loan deal from Manchester United and has impressed Bruce thoroughly with the manner he has chiselled stupendous outings between the sticks, more often than not, for the Villans. He spent the second half of last season on loan with Villa and played a key role in resurrecting their season.
In Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over Fulham last weekend, the Englishman did put on yet another scintillating performance and is getting due recognition from his manager, who is very desirous of signing him permanently. At this time, the Red Devils do have some quality goalkeepers in the shapes of David De Gea, Sergio Romero and Joel Pereira and thus, it goes without saying that it would be a tough task for Johnstone to make appearances for his parent club.
The 24-year-old, in this stage of his career, would be personally keen to ply his trade week in and week and considering that he has cemented his position under the tutelage of Bruce, he might not be against the idea of a permanent move to the ranks of the Lions. He has played all the Championship games this season and has garnered 5 clean sheets to his names and on an average, he has made 3 saves per game.
Johnstone, so far in his senior career, has showcased that he could be an astute goalkeeper for any Championship side. He commands the penalty area in a shrewd manner, is comfortable in dealing with the crosses, barks orders to the backline and makes tricky saves look easy. Besides, he is a calm and composed figure, is good at clearing the dangers and is possesses immense confidence in him as well.
His contract with Manchester United runs out at the end of the season and frankly speaking, Jose Mourinho might find it difficult to keep him at the Old Trafford. Johnstone owes a lot to Villa for giving him the requisite platform to perform, but his splendid displays might tempt other notable clubs to make a move for him and thus, the aforesaid task is easier said than done.
Statistics Credits: Squawka
