The Aston Villa goalkeeper has impressed lately but reportedly sees his future at Manchester United.
It seems a vast number of Aston Villa supporters owe Sam Johnstone an apology. After an error-strewn start to life in the Midlands following his January loan move from Manchester United, the 23-year-old has evolved into one of the club’s stand-out players with manager Steve Bruce a confirmed admirer, the Birmingham Mail reports.
Villa are currently enjoying their best run of form in 2016/17, winning five of their last six games and keeping a clean sheet in each.
And Johnstone impressed once more in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Wigan Athletic, making a number of superb stops to provide the platform for James Chester and Scott Hogan to secure another three-point haul.
And Bruce believes the scrappy win in Lancashire represented Johnstone’s finest display for the club.
“He’s progressing week by week. He’s a young player who we brought into the club and he can only get better,” Bruce told the Birmingham Mail.
“Today was his best performance in terms of making two really good saves, really good ones which matter down to his left-hand side.”
Whether Johnstone will maintain his progression at Aston Villa, however, is up for debate.
Remaining with the Championship giants certainly seems to make sense considering that he is yet to make his Manchester United debut but, according to the Birmingham Mail, the shot-stopper still has his heart set on making an impact in the first-team at Old Trafford, despite the fact that David De Gea has the number one position sewn up for the foreseeable future.
Consequently, regardless of the rapid rate of his development at Villa Park, he seems destined to spend next season on the bench or possibly even in the stands.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
