Manchester United extend Johnstone, deal does not affect Villa future
By Josh Tonti
Manchester United exercised an option to extend goalkeeper Sam Johnstone’s contract through the summer of 2019. The previously expiring deal had been a talk of interest among Premier League and Championship clubs.
Like any good investment, Manchester United decided to protect their asset by exercising an option to tack on one additional year to Sam Johnstone’s contract. The 24-year old goalkeeper on-loan at Aston Villa was an emerging hot commodity given his then-expiring deal this coming summer.
Amid interest from West Bromwich Albion, Villa, and other Championship clubs, United took the smart measure of extending Johnstone; whose value appreciates nearly every week of solid second division play.
While he may be contracted to Manchester United a bit longer, the long-term outlook does not change. He is fourth-choice with the Red Devils, firmly entrenched behind David De Gea, Sergio Romero and youngster Joel Pereira. Sam Johnstone will be moved, the question remains when.
Undoubtedly, Aston Villa will push for a permanent move this January, as they should. If the two sides do not come to an agreement, the bargaining becomes a waiting game. Manchester United want a decent fee for the player transfer. Aston Villa may or may not be able to provide that now, but they can certainly provide that in Summer 2018 with promotion back to the Premier League.
Failure? Well, we don’t want to imagine that, but Johnstone might want to test his mettle in the top flight. West Brom’s Ben Foster turns 35 in April, Crystal Palace rely on Wayne Hennessey and Julian Speroni each week, and Southampton’s Fraser Forster has had a terrible past 18 months.
There is demand for a quality goalkeeper, entering his prime, available for good value without breaking the bank.
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While Manchester United extending Sam Johnstone’s contract makes for a worrying headline, it does not really affect his Aston Villa future.
Villa have (likely) the only shot at signing him permanently in January. After that, promotion might be the most important qualifier to retaining the goalkeeper’s services.