Johnstone ‘never shut the door’ on England opportunity
Sam Johnstone has admitted that he never doubted his international credentials, though he concedes that playing Premier League football with West Brom was vital in earning him a call-up.
The West Brom goalkeeper was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad to face Albania, San Marino and Poland this week, with Everton’s Jordan Pickford unavailable through injury.
The 28-year old joins Nick Pope and Dean Henderson as the three goalkeepers picked for the Three Lions’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Johnstone hasn’t played international football for seven years, having last played for England Under-20s in 2013.
However, as reported by the Express & Star, the Baggies shot-stopper admits that he always believed he would feature for the first-team.
Johnstone said: “I never feared the call wouldn’t come.
“One thing I knew was that I needed to get into the Premier League to have a chance of being called up into the England squad.
“At Albion, we fell short one year by losing in the play-offs. Then it finally happened. And now I’m in my first season in the Premier League, I have had loads to do, I’ve been busy, and I’ve got the call-up. It’s a dream come true.
“But I never shut the door, I would think about it all the time.”
Deserved recognition
Though West Brom have struggled this season, we’d be a lot worse off if it wasn’t for Sam Johnstone.
The 27-year old has made a league-high 123 saves so far this season, according to stats from WyScout, and that comes as no surprise.
Admittedly, he has been afforded more of an opportunity to make those saves because West Brom’s defensive line allows opposition sides to take more shots on goal, but Johnstone has still performed admirably throughout the campaign.
Ahead of the European Championships this summer, Johnstone has every opportunity between now and the end of the season to make enough of an impact to make Southgate’s final squad.
Jordan Pickford, who currently misses out through injury, has been inconsistent at best and underwhelming at worst this season, while Dean Henderson has had his game time severely restricted at Old Trafford.
If Johnstone can keep performing at a consistent level there is no reason why he couldn’t find himself involved with the Three Lions come this summer.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips has reacted to a huge development on Big Sam’s future at The Hawthorns.
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