The Wolves goalkeeper situation has been one of the more intriguing aspects of the club’s summer transfer window.
Wolves have just signed Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace for around £10 million.
This has thrown the future of Jose Sa into doubt, with the Portuguese stopper thought to be of interest to clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this summer it was suggested that Jorge Mendes was sounding out interest from other clubs in Sa.
It has been claimed that Dan Bentley will now be staying at Molineux. Following Johnstone’s arrival, that has cast even more doubt over Sa’s future.
But sporting director Matt Hobbs did suggest that Johnstone has come in with the idea of creating big competition, and earlier today, Gary O’Neil also spoke about the situation.
Gary O’Neil drops Sam Johnstone verdict and says he would ‘expect’ Jose Sa to stay at Wolves
Johnstone has been signed into time to feature in Saturday’s Premier League game with Nottingham Forest.
O’Neil has said that he will be in the squad, meaning only one other goalkeeper will be in.
It will either be Jose Sa or Dan Bentley, and if O’Neil gets his way today then it will be Sa. The Molineux head coach said (via Wolves official): “I would expect [Sa] still to be here by the end of the window.
“There’s only a day left. He knows the situation, he knows that in every position on the pitch you need to fight to earn the starting place, and it’s better that we have an extra good goalie than not, so Sam joins and Jose, Sam, Dan and Kingy will all train as hard as they can, I’m sure, to impress and show us which one should play in goal.”
O’Neil added that he was ‘very, very pleased’ with the signing of Johnstone, adding ‘gives us real good competition in that area of the pitch’.
Sa one to watch in the coming days
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For a lot of Wolves fans, the current situation with the goalkeepers is perplexing.
£10 million is a lot of money to spend on a goalkeeper. That kind of money for a club like Wolves would surely constitute said player coming in to be the number one. It’s a lot to invest in someone to mostly sit on the bench.
Right now, a lot of people are speculating that Sa could be off, despite what O’Neil said today in his press conference and despite the comments from Hobbs.
It seems unlikely that Johnstone would make this move for £10 million just to come and sit on the bench. He lost his place to Dean Henderson at Palace and wants to play regularly.
It may well be that Sa does leave to join a Saudi club. But it’s a move that could happen in the coming days and not before tonight’s deadline.