At 23, Johnstone has still never pulled on a United shirt in a competetive game.
When Steve Bruce claimed that he was solely searching for players who could improve the quality of his starting XI at Aston Villa, few expected a 23-year-old goalkeeper without a first team appearance for his parent club to be his first port of call.
Nonetheless, according to the Birmingham Mail, Manchester United’s perennial loanee Sam Johnstone headlines Bruce’s late-Christmas wishlist.
True, understudy shot-stoppers Mark Bunn and Jed Steer are sidelined with injury and Pierluigi Gollini, himself a product of United’s illustrious academy, is yet to supplement his potential with the consistency required to survive in the unforgiving Championship habitat.
But Johnstone, who counts five clubs in five years in a drawn out spell of short-term stays, is hardly a name to inspire the fans. Especially with just 23 of his 74 career league appearances coming in the second tier.
Furthermore, Villa supporters would be forgiven for having reservations about Johnstone’s long-term prospects. If you haven’t broken into the first team at the age of 23, it’s probably time to leave. Yet, the England Under-20 international remains contracted to Old Trafford, firmly entrenched behind arguably the world’s greatest goalkeeper and Argentina’s number one in the pecking order.
Is there a question to be asked about Johnstone’s commitment to playing first-team football? Is he merely content with the odd loan spell interspersed with prolonged periods watching from the stands?
Not if the words of his agent are to be believed. An interview with the Daily Mail in September last year painted Johnstone not as a player futilely dreaming of a first team chance never likely to arrive, but of an ambitious, focused, dedicated professional desperate to make his mark.
According to The Mail, Johnstone was determined to leave Old Trafford on loan to gain regular minutes between the sticks last season, only for Louis Van Gaal to refuse.
‘Sam just wants to play football but Manchester United are holding him back and not even playing him,” said the goalkeepers agent, Jordan Segal.
‘He is a young goalkeeper and it is time for him to play regularly. If that is not at Manchester United, then it has to be elsewhere. This is an example of young English talent being held back by Van Gaal.’
Understandably, Johnstone was reportedly furious that a club he had dedicated his life to would not allow him the freedom. All he wanted was an opportunity. And, at Villa, he’ll get just that.
Steve Bruce isn’t signing a player whiling away his career. He is signing a player determined to make a point and prove that he can make it at the top level. And that usually bodes well.
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