Aston Villa season in review: Sam Johnstone

We’re covering every Aston Villa footballer this season, beginning with the goalkeepers. Next up, we analyze current number one, and Manchester United loanee, Sam Johnstone. You can check out Mark Bunn and Pierluigi Gollini here & here.

GK – Sam Johnstone, 24

League Appearances: 21

Goals Against Average: 1.15

WhoScored Aggregate: 6.60

Sam Johnstone arrived at Aston Villa during the January transfer window. The deal, a loan signing from Manchester United, remained a curious one at the time. Manager Steve Bruce exiled Pierluigi Gollini back to Italy on an eighteen month loan move – citing “development reasons” along the way.

In came another inexperienced goalkeeper to compete with Villa number two, Mark Bunn. Johnstone made his claret and blues debut in the FA Cup 4th-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur.

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No one rationally expected a victory against the Premier League runner-ups, but Villa at least kept the match within striking distance – 2-0 defeat at White Hart Lane.

The ensuing Championship league matches, however, brought an ominous cloud over Bruce’s personnel decisions. A horrid period between mid-January and mid-February brought Aston Villa within several points of the drop zone.

Johnstone’s play, in particular, caused a lot of undue stress on the weary backline.

Johnstone suffered from a deadly bout of catch-itis, dropping all sorts of shots in the penalty area. Moreover, his cross claiming needed serious improvement if he was to stick around as number one goalkeeper.

Not long after, Aston Vila caught fire; the club began mid-March with seven clean sheets in eight matches. Anchored by James Chester in defense, Johnstone’s play improved after not being needed to save the day every match.

The question remains the same now as it did in January: Is Sam Johnstone going to return? And if so, by which method? Rumors at Manchester United link them to some of the top goalkeepers in the world. Jan Oblak, Joe Hart, and Gianluigi Donnarumma have all seen their names appear in British tabloids.

Furthermore, the future of United’s current goalkeepers are in flux. David de Gea may return to his native city with Real Madrid. Sergio Romero may move to Milan or arch-rivals Inter.

José Mourinho may be reluctant to let Sam Johnstone leave again, citing uncertainty at the position.

2017-2018 Predicition: Sam Johnstone returns to Aston Villa to compete for the number one shirt. Manchester United and Villa work out a £4 million move for the goalkeeper.

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