Sam Johnstone Joins Celtic on Loan from Wolves

Sam Johnstone has completed a season-long loan move to Celtic from Wolves, with the deal still subject to international clearance.

The 33-year-old England goalkeeper arrives as a heavyweight addition to the Scottish champions’ options between the posts, joining Viljami Sinisalo and Ross Doohan in a revamped unit. A product of Manchester United’s academy, Johnstone has spent more than a decade in English football, building a career on the Premier League and international stage.

He has spent the last two seasons at Wolves, making 17 appearances for the club last term. On the international front, he owns four England caps – and four clean sheets, an unblemished record that underlines the pedigree Celtic are bringing into their dressing room.

Speaking to CelticPlayer after sealing the move, Johnstone made no attempt to hide his enthusiasm.

"It's a great feeling, I'm buzzing to be here and I'm excited to get going," he said.

He didn’t need a sales pitch, but one arrived anyway from a familiar voice.

"I didn't need convincing by anyone, but Joe Hart rang me the other day just to reiterate what a place this is, what a great group of lads and how the fans are unbelievable.

"Like I said, I didn't need convincing, but for someone like that to ring me up and reiterate again the size of the club and what it means to people, it just made me so excited to get here and get started."

Johnstone knows exactly what he is walking into: a club where goalkeepers live under a spotlight and a support that demands trophies. That, he insists, is part of the attraction.

"You hear about the size of the club, and you know about the size of the club, but just being here for a day, you notice how big the club is.

"And the pressure to win, which is what I like – pressure to win, pressure to perform and we all want to win trophies.

"You hear about the atmosphere at the stadium and that's something I can't wait to play in front of."

Inside the training ground, Johnstone expects a tight bond with his fellow keepers, and a hard edge to daily work.

"I think everyone knows the goalie groups are a tight-knit group. We work closely together every day and hopefully I can help Vil and he can help me, and we push each other and we support each other along with the other goalies and the goalie coaches."

If the goalkeeping department needed fresh competition after Joe Hart’s departure, manager Martin O'Neill believes he has found it.

"We are really happy to welcome Sam to Celtic," O'Neill said. "He is a quality keeper with excellent experience at the highest level and I think he will be a very good addition to our goalkeeping team.

"He is really looking forward to joining Celtic, to add competition to our team and we are pleased to bring a goalkeeper of this quality to the club."

A new voice in the dressing room, a seasoned pair of hands in goal and a support desperate to see how he copes with the roar of Celtic Park – Johnstone’s loan might only be for a season, but the expectations will be anything but short term.