Orjan Nyland has not had the best time since arriving at Aston Villa in the summer.
With three clean sheets in his last five appearances, it appears that Orjan Nyland may possibly be starting to turn a corner at Aston Villa after a poor start to life with the Villans.
The 28-year-old had big shoes to fill when he arrived in the summer after Sam Johnstone enjoyed a superb second loan spell at Villa Park where he nearly helped Villa to promotion to the Premier League.
And it appeared that Nyland was going to fall short when it came to replacing Johnstone as he really struggled with form during the opening months of his spell with the club.
But under Dean Smith, Nyland appears to have turned a corner. While some fans remain unconvinced, he did receive a lot of praise from the supporters for his performance following the stunning 3-0 win away at Derby County before the international break.
So perhaps there is a chance that Nyland may be about to emulate Johnstone.
When Johnstone – who signed for West Brom for £6.5 million in the summer, according to BBC Sport – initially joined on loan, the goalkeeper was poor for a while and struggled to settle in at Villa before improving slightly towards the end of his first stint.
But when he returned for a second spell, he quickly looked like a completely different keeper and established himself as a key man in the side. It was no surprise that many wanted him signed on a permanent deal at the start of the summer.
Nyland has a very long way to go before he leaves the fans convinced that he is the right stopper for Smith to put his long-term faith in. But there have unquestionably been some much more encouraging signs in recent weeks.
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