Sam Johnstone is now Celtic’s undisputed number one
Sam Johnstone didn’t exactly have the best of starts to his Celtic career but I reckon that he’s now established himself as Celtic’s first pick goalkeeper…
The 33 year old former England international arrived on a loan deal from Wolves in the summer transfer window as Martin O’Neill added to his keeper options, with only Viljami Sinisalo and Ross Doohan at his disposal.
It’s true that Viljami Sinisalo didn’t cover himself in glory in that dreadful night in Linz earlier in the season and that seems to have lingered in Martin O’Neill’s mind as he tries to find himself a first pick goalkeeper after Celtic spent the grand total of nothing on the position despite Kasper Schmeichel’s retirement.
Sam Johnstone as Anthony Joseph noted on his interview on Celtic Fans TV this week (another fan media outlet banned by Celtic) that Johnstone was the fourth choice Wolves keeper when he was signed by Celtic in the closing moments of the summer transfer window.
Johnstone was seen as the man we required to compete for the gloves at Celtic, and despite a competent enough debut in a 1-0 win at St Johnstone, he looked like the proverbial fish out of water in the 3-0 Premier Sports cup defeat at Ibrox, as like the rest of his teammates he badly let himself down.
The former Manchester United man has since put that behind him as Martin O’Neill gave his a reprieve, and he’s looked more comfortable in recent games as he tries to establish himself as the number one option between the sticks.
Sam has showed his ability with shot stopping and with his command of the box also impressing supporters in recent games. He might not be as comfortable with the ball at his feet, but he’s a decent experienced keeper all the same and he’s starting to show why he’s performing at the top level for such a long time.
Aside from that awful night in Linz, Viljami Sinisalo hasn’t done too much wrong, but if we are being truthful with ourselves, Johnstone is a more effective and experienced keeper and deserves to have the gloves at this moment.
The former West Brom shot stopper is also said to be on a massive £60k a week at Wolves, with Celtic likely to be subsiding a percentage of that (perhaps 50%?), so they will hardly be looking to bench a player on such a high salary.
Sam will also have a better idea of what’s expected at the club, ie the pressures involved, so it will of great benefit to both him and the club as the campaign progresses. He is however a Wolves player and if he keeps the gloves until the end of season where does that leave us?
Brendan Rodgers signing Sinisalo was apparently promised to be first pick after Kasper’s time as Celtic goalkeeper came to an end and if that is now not the case under a different manager in Martin O’Neill will he be happy going back to being th goalkeeping bridesmaid at the club? The Finland international may actually ask for a transfer in January IF his agent is busy securing a potential suitor.
Will Celtic sign a goalkeeper in January? The Board have been letting it be known that money will be available for Martin O’Neill in January but perhaps the goalkeeping position will not be the manager’s priority as he looks to solve his midfielder problems.
We’ll have to wait and see but for now it’s Sam Johnstone who can be regarded as the first pick Celtic goalkeeper.
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