Johnstone is more than capable of playing for England
West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone should have nothing to fear while he’s off on international duty with England for the next two weeks.
The 27-year-old has been called up to the national side for the first time since he was a teenager. It’s just what he deserves, too, after a fantastic couple of seasons for the Baggies.
He played a starring role last season in a West Brom side who lost just seven times in the league. Even the champions, Leeds, lost more games. He conceded the third least amount of goals in the Championship. This meant for a second-place finish at a return to the Premier League.
It’s been a different experience entirely for him this year, though. The Baggies have struggled through large periods of the campaign and find themselves in 19th spot. If it weren’t for Johnstone, they could well be bottom.
The keeper has made a league-high 123 saves as it stands [Wyscout]. He’s gone from not facing many shots last season to being called into action regularly. It demonstrates he is able to perform both roles – with England, he may go for large spells of play without seeing the ball.
Johnstone may well feature for England at some point over the next three games. San Marino, Albania and Poland await Gareth Southgate’s squad. Three matches offer the chance to be quite flexible with the squad, so he could well get minutes.
There is an even greater opportunity as the number one, Jordan Pickford, isn’t in the squad due to injury. Pickford, himself, has been somewhat inconsistent this season. His absence provides a chance for Nick Pope, Dean Henderson or Johnstone to step up.
It’s come at the perfect time for him as well. West Brom have conceded just two league goals in their last five matches. This is partially down to a more structured back-line, but also massively due to the heroics of Johnstone, whose form hasn’t dipped throughout the season.
Despite not yet being capped, Johnstone has won silverware for his country, not something many people can say. He was part of the under-17 squad that won the 2010 European Championship. Although this was 11 years ago, it’s still something to take with him.
He last played for England at u20 level in 2013. Despite taking the long way, he’s finally back in the mix and is performing to a better standard than his peers. Should he get some game time, he has every right to feel at home and confident in an England shirt.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips has backed Chris Wilder to get the Baggies job for next season.