View: Unsung West Brom hero deserves far more praise from fans
A week on from his 100th league appearance for West Brom, goalkeeper Sam Johnstone remains a player that often goes under the radar.
As is often the case with ‘keepers, their consistent excellence is often ignored, with only their mistakes drawing widespread attention. Given that mistakes from goalkeepers often lead to goals conceded it is understandable, but the lack of wider acclaim a metronomic performer like Johnstone receives remains a surprise.
A Manchester United academy graduate, the 27-year-old never quite made the grade at Old Trafford and was instead sent on a series of loan spells to Oldham Athletic, Scunthorpe United, Walsall, Yeovil Town, Doncaster Rovers, Preston North End and finally Aston Villa.
It is a credit to Johnstone that each time he went out on loan it seemed to be with a bigger club, but with David De Gear firmly in possession of the United number one jersey, it made sense that in the summer of 2018, he was ready for a permanent move away.
Given that he had just spent the season with promotion-chasing Aston Villa, Johnstone was an obvious target for the freshly relegated Baggies and they paid a handsome £6.5 million sum to acquire his services. Two and a bit years on and it looks like money well spent.
During the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, Johnstone boasted a save percentage of more than 70%, ranking him 11th and sixth in the division respectively. With 144 saves in 2018-19 he led the league and in 2019-20 he ranked fifth in terms of clean sheets (via FBRef). The 193cm stopper is good on the ball too, ranking sixth in terms of accurate long balls and fourth in terms of accurate short passes in the Championship last season (via WhoScored).
Now a starting Premier League goalkeeper, the pressure is on Johnstone to translate his talents to the top-flight. For a long time he has shown he has the potential to do it, but the proof this season will be in his performances. Nonetheless, 100 league games into his Baggies career, it is worth a quick reflection on a player who does not always get the praise he deserves from fans outside The Hawthorns.
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