‘Not a headache’ - Gary O’Neil assesses Wolves goalkeeping dilemma after Jose Sa masterclass v Man City

O’Neil has insisted there will be no selection headache over his first choice goalkeeper at Wolves after Jose Sa’s stellar performance against Manchester City - but he kept his cards close to his chest as to who the preferred option will become.

Wolves may have lost 2-1 at Molineux but Sa, in for his first Premier League start since the 6-2 defeat to Chelsea, could do very little about either goal scored. The Portugal international got a fingertip on Josko Gvardiol’s 25-yard equaliser and then received an off-putting nudge from Bernardo Silva ahead of John Stones’ bullet header.

Sa also prevented City from taking the lead earlier in the game with several diving stops low to his right and left, denying the likes of Bernardo, Savinho, Ruben Dias and Jack Grealish. The goalkeeper’s distribution was also fairly on point throughout what turned out to be an excellent afternoon on an individual level.

When asked about the goalkeeping dilemma in the post-match press conference, O’Neil said: “There’s no headache, no. Johnstone was injured today. Jose’s trained really well and been excellent. Sam was injured, Jose was excellent and has always been ready. There’s no headache, it’s really clear where we go next.”

Sam Johnstone has been given the nod in every league game since he joined from Crystal Palace but his spot could now be at threat following Sa’s masterclass. The 5-3 defeat to Brentford before the international break won’t have done Johnstone any favours, either.

But then again, the only reason Johnstone didn’t start against City was because of a minor adductor injury picked up during a recent training session. The Englishman was fit enough to make the bench and should be fine to start at Brighton. With O’Neil’s comments very much up for interpretation, only time will tell.