Villa drew 5-5 with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.
Aston Villa fans watched on as their side played out an enthralling 5-5 draw with Nottingham Forest in the Championship on Wednesday night – and some supporters reacted on Twitter by wishing they still had West Brom star Sam Johnstone.
Instead, Norway international Orjan Nyland has acted as the club’s number one this season since he was brought in at Villa Park in the summer to replace the loss of Johnstone – who left Manchester United to join West Brom.
Nyland, 28, joined the club from German side FC Ingolstadt, and has conceded 26 goals in 17 games – managing just four clean sheets for Villa. He has started every game under manager Dean Smith.
Johnstone played for Villa during the second half of the 2016-17 season, and was then re-signed on another loan for the entire 2017-18 campaign. A change in ownership prevented Villa from moving quick enough to land him permanently.
Instead, Johnstone completed a move to Villa’s local rivals West Brom for a fee of £6.5million (BBC Sport).
The Baggies star shone at Villa, conceding just 68 goals in 70 league and cup outings but perhaps his most impressive stat was picking up 30 clean sheets in that time – almost one every two games.
Villa fans watched Nyland concede five goals against Forest, with Lewis Grabban’s 82nd-minute equaliser perhaps being his fault as the ex-Villa striker squeezed a shot past Nyland at his near post. Supporters wished they still had Johnstone.
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