Aston Villa could lose Sam Johnstone to West Brom but have already lined up Newcastle United’s Karl Darlow as his successor.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has made it perfectly clear that his first priority in January is to convince Sam Johnstone to commit his future to the club.
The goalkeeper returned to Villa Park in the summer for a season-long loan from Manchester United. But, with the 24-year-old’s contract expiring at the end of the 2017/18 campaign, Bruce stated recently that he would enquire about a permanent move in the New Year.
“It would be great to keep him here for the next few years as Villa’s No1,” Bruce said in quotes reported by The Sun. “I will need to ask the question. The ideal move for us would be to buy him in January.”
But with Midland rivals West Bromwich Albion aiming to rain on Villa’s parade by making a £5 million January offer, and giving Johnstone the chance to play in the Premier League for the first time, there appears to be a very real chance that Bruce could be left disappointed.
Though The Sun reports that Villa already have an alternative lined up – and there are not many better available options around.
It is understood that Newcastle United will listen to offers for the out-of-favour Karl Darlow in January, and Villa will turn to the former Nottingham Forest shot-stopper if Johnstone does indeed cut his season-long stint in half.
And while Darlow is far from the finished article, he is a proven goalkeeper at Championship level who, at 27, still has plenty of time to improve. In fact, Darlow really stood out for Newcastle last season as they earned promotion back to the Premier League, winning the Championship trophy to boot.
He would bring not only quality and experience but a real winners’ mentality to Villa Park. With Bruce’s side desperate to return to the top flight, it would not do Villa any harm to add a Championship winner to their squad, after all.
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