Jose Sa’s poor start to the season offered Sam Johnstone a chance to take his spot as Wolves’ number one goalkeeper.
The Englishman has no doubt taken his chance with both hands, and his teammates have been noticing his impressive displays.
Marshall Munetsi branded Johnstone as ‘exceptional’ following the Old Gold’s 1-1 draw with Brighton. Meanwhile, fans were left in awe at his display against Tottenham just a week earlier.
The goalkeeper has his sights set on making England’s World Cup squad, and his ambition to be the best he can possibly be is highlighted by what he did during the summer.
Sam Johnstone did extra training over the summer
Sam Johnstone had it all to do to break into Vitor Pereira’s plans.
Jose Sa has been Wolves’ number one for the last four seasons, and after Johnstone played just ten games last campaign, it did not seem like he could usurp the Portuguese.
However, the Englishman has been provided a chance to stake a long-term claim between the sticks at Molineux, and right now, there is no doubt he is Pereira’s number one ‘keeper.
Johnstone has been speaking about his time as a number two and has revealed he undertook extra training over the summer to try to break into the starting XI.
He said, (via Wolves), “In the summer, I went to Portugal with my family, and we took a goalie coach, and we took a fitness coach with me to train, and we worked. I got my head down, and that’s all you can do.”
The additional practice seemed to work, and Wolves have looked much better defensively since the switch to a back four and Johnstone coming into the team.
Wolves and Sam Johnstone can keep clean sheets
It will be a difficult season for Wolves based on how it has started.
They are at the bottom of the Premier League and have just two points. In their last two games, they have looked much better performance-wise but have been undone by last-minute equalisers.
The lack of attacking threat has been a major issue for the Old Gold, with Jorgen Strand Larsen still not 100 per cent fit and Jhon Arias not adapting to the Premier League yet.
Goals have not come often, and right now, there is no sign of that changing, but the defensive side of their game has been showing improvement.
Brighton’s equaliser came from Wolves switching off from a set-piece, and against Spurs it was simply a moment of individual brilliance from Joao Palhinha.
However, other than that, they have looked strong at the back, and last-minute heartbreaks aside, it showed they are capable of keeping teams at bay.
Pereira needs to get his side to be more switched on abd that could allow the Wanderers to collect more clean sheets, and that always gives you a chance of getting wins on the board.