It has very much been a season of two halves at Wolves, but for one player the 2024/25 campaign has been pretty awful throughout.
Vitor Pereira has been Wolves’ saviour after replacing Gary O’Neil in December.
The Portuguese’s appointment raised eyebrows.
But he’s been superb, and in the end he secured Wolves’ safety with ease.
The challenge from the three teams that have gone down has been admittedly very poor.
But Wolves are on 41 points, and could well finish on 47 by the end of the season, which would be very respectable.
A lot of players this season started off really poorly and have improved under Pereira in the second half of the campaign.
But for Sam Johnstone, this campaign hasn’t been a good one and he surely must regret ever making the move.
Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone’s frustrations compounded as former club Crystal Palace win FA Cup
Photo by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images
Photo by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images
Johnstone completed a £10 million transfer to Wolves last summer from Crystal Palace.
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It was an odd move at the time, because Jose Sa – who was the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia – had not left the club.
It was expected that he’d go, but his exit did not materialise.
So Wolves then had Johnstone and Sa, both goalkeepers who see themselves as number ones.
Johnstone – who did come in for praise from Vitor Pereira after Wolves’ defeat to Bournemouth in the FA Cup – did play a handful of games after first joining, but eventually, Sa got back in. And under Pereira, he’s pretty much played every game, leaving Johnstone in a very frustrating situation.
He moved to Wolves in the hope of playing regularly.
He hasn’t done that. And to compound his frustrations, the club he just left Palace, won the FA Cup on Saturday, beating Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
It was the first time the Eagles have won a major trophy in their history.
Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images
Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images
Johnstone set for early exit from Wolves
Most of the talk regarding players potentially leaving Wolves this summer has been about the likes of Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
But a few fringe players could also leave and it would be a surprise if Johnstone stuck around for next season.
Sam Johnstone for Wolves
Appearances – 10
Clean sheets – 1
Goals conceded – 19
Save percentage – 69.1%
stats via fbref
Johnstone has interest from Leeds United ahead of the summer transfer window and surely, Wolves will listen to any offers for their current number two.
It’s very hard to see him staying, with reports claiming Johnstone does want to leave Wolves after just one season.
The club should expect to take a slight hit on Johnstone given his struggles.