Sam Johnstone

Sam Johnstone is a 33-year-old English goalkeeper currently at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, bringing considerable top-flight experience to a club that has navigated a turbulent few seasons. His career honours include a Premier League title, a Europa League winners' medal, and a Carabao Cup, though those came during spells at clubs where he was not always the undisputed number one, underlining the stop-start nature of his career at the highest level.

The data from the 2025/26 season tells an interesting story. Johnstone has made 12 appearances, accumulating 1,080 minutes, which points to a settled run in the side earlier in the campaign. However, his last five matches all show him listed as a non-starter, suggesting he has lost his place in the Wolves lineup in recent weeks. During that period Wolves have shown some resilience, drawing 0-0 at Nottingham Forest, holding Arsenal to a 2-2 draw at Molineux, and beating Aston Villa 2-0, though they also lost 3-1 to Chelsea and fell 1-0 at Crystal Palace. His season rating of 6.93 across those 12 appearances is a reasonable benchmark for a goalkeeper at a mid-table side, reflecting solid if unspectacular contributions.

Johnstone joined Wolves in a transfer completed in August 2024, with a reported fee in the region of 11.9 million pounds, signalling the club's intent to bring in an experienced presence between the posts. At international level he has earned England caps, though competition for the national team goalkeeping spots has always been fierce, and he has not been a regular fixture in recent squads. His profile is that of a dependable, technically sound goalkeeper rather than one who dominates headlines.

With Johnstone currently out of the starting eleven, the key thing to monitor in Wolves' upcoming fixtures is whether he reclaims his place or whether the current occupant of the goalkeeping role continues to hold it. SportSignals' AI analysis engine has been tracking Wolves' matches throughout the season, and any shift in the goalkeeping situation at Molineux would be a notable development worth watching as the second half of the campaign unfolds.