Wolverhampton Wanderers have completed the signing of goalkeeper Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace for a fee of £10million.
Johnstone has signed a four-year contract with the Premier League club, with the option of a further 12 months. Current No 1 Jose Sa is currently expected to stay at Molineux with sporting director Matt Hobbs claiming he and Johnstone will fight for the first-team spot.
Hobbs said: “It’s great for us to have a player with a huge amount of Premier League experience and an international goalkeeper. It’s an area of the pitch we wanted to add more competition and, for us, it’s finding the right balance between the level of investment, what it adds to the squad and what it enables us to do for the rest of the squad.
“Sam’s at a good age – goalkeepers come into their prime a bit later – and what happens from here will be up to the boys in the building, but for us to be able to add someone like him is valuable for us.
“People know that we’re looking for good characters and we’re not going to take someone who is a really good player but doesn’t fit culturally. He ticks a lot of boxes and it’s up to him and the others to fight out for that position.
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“I think a squad and a team is in a much better place when there’s real competition for every place. If we can add such an experienced player, who is homegrown and knows the league, and it makes the whole group more competitive, then we wouldn’t turn that down in any other position, so why do we turn that down with a goalkeeper?”
The Athletic reported that the two clubs were close to reaching an agreement that will see the 31-year-old England international move to Molineux this summer.
Earlier this month, The Athletic reported that Palace were ready to approve Johnstone’s departure after he requested to leave Selhurst Park. Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, and Southampton had all previously expressed interest in the player.
Johnstone’s decision to seek an exit stemmed from head coach Oliver Glasner’s preference for Dean Henderson as his first-choice goalkeeper, with the former Forest player starting Palace’s opening two Premier League matches.
Following Palace’s 2-0 home defeat to West Ham United, Glasner confirmed that Johnstone was keen to depart.
“Sam told us he wants to leave, and so if he finds a club he can leave,” Glasner said. ”That is not the best situation to get a start.”
Johnstone has made 34 appearances in all competitions since joining Palace in 2022. He has also been capped four times by England.
(George Wood/Getty Images)
