Wolves complete £10m signing from Premier League rivals

Wolves have announced the permanent acquisition of goalkeeper Sam Johnstone from fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace.

The 31-year-old has signed a four-year contract to keep him at Molineux until June 2028, with the option of a further 12 months included. It’s understood Wolves paid £10 million to Palace for the shotstopper, who has four senior caps for England.

Johnstone, who joined Palace from Wolves’ bitter rivals West Bromwich Albion two years ago on a free transfer, recently became second choice behind Dean Henderson at Selhurst Park. Unwilling to be a backup, the 31-year-old asked manager Oliver Glasner to move on.

The Athletic reported two days ago that Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Leicester City had all shown an interest in signing Johnstone. Whether or not missing out on the goalkeeper will spark any of those sides to target an alternative awaits to be seen.

After confirming the signing of Johnstone, Wolves’ sporting director, Matt Hobbs, said: “It's great for us to have a player with a huge amount of Premier League experience and an international goalkeeper.

“It’s an area of the pitch we wanted to add more competition and, for us, it's finding the right balance between the level of investment, what it adds to the squad and what it enables us to do for the rest of the squad.

“Sam’s at a good age – goalkeepers come into their prime a bit later – and what happens from here will be up to the boys in the building, but for us to be able to add someone like him is valuable for us.

“People know that we’re looking for good characters and we're not going to take someone who is a really good player but doesn’t fit culturally. He ticks a lot of boxes and it’s up to him and the others to fight out for that position.

“I think a squad and a team is in a much better place when there's real competition for every place. If we can add such an experienced player, who is homegrown and knows the league, and it makes the whole group more competitive, then we wouldn't turn that down in any other position, so why do we turn that down with a goalkeeper?”