Sam Johnstone made his debut for Wolves in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest, with Jose Sa nowhere to be seen at the City Ground.
After the events of transfer deadline day, it was always going to be fascinating to see Gary O’Neil‘s teamsheet yesterday.
Wolves dropped £10 million on Johnstone, strongly suggesting that he will be a number one goalkeeper at Molineux.
Against Forest, Sa was not included in the squad – amid speculation that he will be making a move to Saudi Arabia. Their window remains open.
Dan Bentley took up his usual position on the Wolves bench, with Johnstone starting.
It has been a whirlwind past 48 hours or so for Johnstone, who spoke about joining the club and becoming teammates with Jose Sa after yesterday’s game.
Sam Johnstone says Jose Sa welcomed him at Wolves
Johnstone is a player Wolves have kept tabs on for quite a while, according to sporting director Matt Hobbs.
The 31-year-old has signed a four-year deal at Molineux, which someone have found surprising.
A 31-year-old joining for £10 million and signing a four-year contract really does suggest that he will become the new number one, and all eyes are now on Sa to see if his move to Saudi goes through.
Sa wasn’t involved yesterday for Wolves. O’Neil said after the 1-1 draw with Forest that it had been an unsettling period for him, and so the decision was made to leave him out.
But he was at the club’s training ground in recent days, and Johnstone has revealed that the Portuguese was on hand to welcome him to the club.
He told Match of the Day: “Jose is a good keeper and we are going to compete with each other. The goalie group is really good. He welcomed me into the club as did the other lads. There is no secret I want to play football and I am competing against a good goalkeeper.”
Sa will leave Wolves very soon
There can surely be no doubt about the situation now – Sa will leave Wolves sooner rather than later.
The Saudi window closes on September 2, and it could well be that Sa does depart either today or tomorrow. But should a move not come to fruition, then he will likely leave in the next window.
It is impossible to see how Sa could stay long-term, now that Johnstone has arrived. The former Crystal Palace man would surely not have moved just to sit on another bench. Johnstone has said it himself, he wants to play.
It is just about whether something can be facilitated – it is a move he wants, but Wolves need to ensure they get a fair price for a proven Premier League goalkeeper.