Aston Villa are set to lose out to Middlesbrough in the race for Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
If Aston Villa miss out on signing Sam Johnstone from Manchester United, it can only be considered to be a major transfer blow for Steve Bruce’s side.
And it is hard to believe that Villa would be able to sign another goalkeeper of Johnstone’s quality for an equal value.
Johnstone was on loan at Villa for the back end of last season, and his performances were highly impressive.
The 24-year-old looks as if he could develop into an excellent stopper, and for just £2.5 million he could be one of the bargain buys of the summer.
However, Villa have been unable to get a deal over the line – and it seems as if Middlesbrough have won the race for Johnstone’s signature now.
Quite where Villa will go from here remains to be seen, as Bruce had made Johnstone his number one target.
The claret and blues have a lack of options in goal, with the unproven Jed Steer looking likely to be the only senior goalkeeper left in their current squad.
And it will be extremely difficult for Villa to bring in another keeper of Johnstone’s quality for the same price this summer.
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