Given the choice, Sam Johnstone might not have been lining up for Wolves at a freezing Ewood Park on a Sunday lunchtime in February.
The former England goalkeeper, on FA Cup duty back in his native Lancashire yesterday, has found himself in a familiarly depressing position after moving to Molineux to reclaim his place as Premier League No 1.
When Johnstone joined Wolves from Crystal Palace in the summer, he did so to escape the frustrations of the substitutes’ bench at Selhurst Park.
A badly timed injury and a change of head coach later, Johnstone finds himself back in the same situation — different club, different bench, same frustrations.
So while a run in the cup might still be a long way below Premier League survival on Wolves’ list of objectives in 2024-25, for Johnstone, an extended stay in the competition provides a chance to keep himself in the minds of Wolves fans, head coach Vitor Pereira and potential summer suitors.
At the start of the January transfer window, Wolves were open to the possibility of letting Johnstone leave on loan if a club had been willing to cover the entire cost of his salary for the second half of the season.
That would have been recognition on the club’s part that the move back to the Midlands had not worked out how the former Manchester United man had hoped, as well as a useful freeing up of wages to spend elsewhere in the squad.
But no move materialised, so the 31-year-old now finds himself stuck in the same position he was desperate to escape at Palace. For Dean Henderson, now read Jose Sa.
Pereira refused to guarantee Johnstone starting duties in the remainder of Wolves’ Cup run, but his praise of his No 2 goalkeeper suggested he is likely to remain in the team for as long as Wolves remain in the competition.
Johnstone left Palace to regain first-team football at Wolves (Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
“I’m very happy with him,” said Pereira. “I looked at the game and for me, he played at a high level.
“That means that I have good goalkeepers in goal and I’m very confident for the future because I have players that give me confidence that he is ready if I need him.
“It’s not easy to go a long time without playing and then come here on this pitch. He did very well in my opinion.
“In our life, the future is today. Tomorrow we don’t know (what will happen). But if he’s playing and gives me the confidence to play, why not (stick with him)? He will play in the next round for sure because he gave me this confidence.”
So for Johnstone, at least one more start is promised. What happens beyond the end of the season is now open to debate.
A year after Johnstone made the move that he thought would make him a Premier League regular again, he will find himself needing assurances that he will not spend another season playing backup to the man he was signed to replace.
Wolves targeted a new goalkeeper in the summer for a couple of reasons. The primary one was the expectation Sa might leave Molineux before the summer window closed, with interest from Saudi Arabia that never grew into serious offers.
The second was the feeling that despite the high regard in which Dan Bentley is held by staff and team-mates at the Compton Park training ground for his solid character and approach to training, Sa was under insufficient pressure last season to keep him as focused as he needed to be to reach his maximum level consistently.
Once that pressure was applied by Johnstone, Sa returned to the kind of performances that convinced first Gary O’Neil and now Pereira that they could not leave him out.
So while making a £10million signing was an expensive way to do it, adding Johnstone has worked out in one way for Wolves, even if it has not worked out for the man himself.
Come the summer, it seems inconceivable that both men can stay, but that does not mean he is certain to stay or Johnstone is certain to leave. For one thing, the interest from Saudi Arabia might return and Wolves and Sa might be presented with offers they cannot refuse.
For another, Wolves need to rebalance their squad for next season, with the current group featuring an obvious shortage of homegrown players.
That is a box Johnstone ticks and Sa does not. Wolves’ league status will also be key. At present, they could still find themselves in either the Premier League or the Championship.
So when the season is done and dusted, many possibilities will be on the table. But for now, Johnstone is back in a position he was desperate to escape.
A No 1 spot in the Premier League is out of reach for the moment, so the FA Cup has become the stage on which he must state his case.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
