Charlie Austin sends message to Sam Johnstone after England call-up
West Brom keeper Sam Johnstone finally got the news on Thursday that he has been called into the England side for the March games.
The Three Lions start their World Cup qualifiers this month and will entertain San Marino, Albania and Poland as they look to get off to a positive start.
Gareth Southgate has been thrilled by the progress of Johnstone in this struggling Albion side, although the injury to Jordan Pickford opened the door for him.
Even though he is currently at Queens Park Rangers in the Championship, Charlie Austin is still keeping a close eye on things at The Hawthorns.
Writing on his personal Twitter account after the announcement, Austin admitted that he was over the moon for his former teammate.
“So buzzing for Sam Johnstone,” he wrote. “Well deserved mate.”
Fully deserved.
There have been few keepers in the entire country who have been performing more consistently than Johnstone this season, and none are under as much pressure.
The Albion haven’t exactly been solid defensively for the majority of this Premier League season, but their keeper has been the one to the rescue.
According to WyScout, no keeper has made as many saves as Johnstone in the top five leagues in Europe, with Illan Meslier of Leeds in second.
That is incredible. On top of that, only two keepers are called into action as much per game as the Baggies keeper.
Pickford makes constant errors, Dean Henderson hardly features at Old Trafford; Johnstone earned this spot through merit, and he fully deserves it.
In other West Brom news, Carlton Palmer makes big Sam Allardyce-relegation claim