Samuel Luke Johnstone (born 25 March 1993) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for club

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

and the England national team. A product of the Manchester United academy, Johnstone spent time on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

, Scunthorpe United,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

, Preston North End and Aston Villa. He was an England youth international, winning caps at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-20 levels.

Club career

Manchester United

Early career

Johnstone joined Manchester United at academy level from Chorley-based club Euxton Villa, after being spotted by club scout Colin Fairhurst. In the 2010–11 season, he was first-choice goalkeeper in the academy, after sharing the duties the previous season. On 26 July 2011, Johnstone joined

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club

, as both of their first-choice goalkeepers were sidelined by injury. On 9 September, Johnstone joined League One club Scunthorpe United on a one-month loan after their first-choice goalkeeper Josh Lillis suffered a long-term injury. The following day, he made his debut in a 1–1 home draw against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. On 19 October, Johnstone dislocated his finger during a training session, forcing Scunthorpe to search for an emergency goalkeeper once again. On 10 November, Scunthorpe extended the loan until 9 December, which was then extended to 10 January 2012. On 20 March 2013, Manchester United agreed for Johnstone to spend the rest of the 2012–13 season on loan to League One club

. He kept consecutive clean sheets in his first few matches and was first-choice goalkeeper during his loan. On 17 August, Johnstone was loaned to Championship club

for a period of three months. Johnstone made his debut on the same day in a 2–0 loss to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, but it was later confirmed that he had suffered a finger injury prior to his debut and returned to Manchester United for treatment.

2014–2017

On 31 January 2014, Johnstone was loaned to Championship club

for four weeks. With the first-choice goalkeeper

Ross Turnbull Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

injured, Johnstone made his debut the following day at the

Keepmoat Keepmoat Homes Ltd is a housebuilding company in the United Kingdom that provides private homes for sale. Its headquarters are in Doncaster. History The company was founded in Rotherham by George Bramall and Dick Ogden as Bramall & Ogden in 1 ...

against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. On 4 April, Johnstone agreed a loan extension until the end of the 2013–14 season. On 27 October, Johnstone again joined Doncaster Rovers, with the club now in League One, on loan, initially until January 2015. On 12 January 2015, Johnstone joined his hometown club, Preston North End of League One, on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. On 25 May, Johnstone kept a clean sheet in the 2015 League One play-off final as Preston won promotion to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

with a 4–0 win over

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. On Manchester United's pre-season tour of the United States in July 2015, Johnstone played as second-choice goalkeeper ahead of Anders Lindegaard, covering for

David de Gea David de Gea Quintana (born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United. During the mid-2010s, he was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Born in Madrid ...

while the Spaniard recovered from a knock. He started in the victories over Club América and San Jose Earthquakes (playing the entire game) and came on as a second-half substitute against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in a 3–1 victory. After rumours of De Gea's potential transfer Real Madrid caused the Spaniard to be dropped from the Manchester United squad, Johnstone was named on the bench behind

Sergio Romero Sergio Germán Romero (; born 22 February 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Boca Juniors. He has also played for the Argentina national team. Romero made his debut with Racing Club in the Argentin ...

for the first game of the season against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. After De Gea returned to the United first-team, following the collapse of his move, Johnstone failed to make the bench again in 2015. On 31 December 2015, he re-signed for Preston on an initial 28-day loan, after Sunderland recalled

Jordan Pickford Jordan Lee Pickford (' Logan; born 7 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton and the England national team. Pickford has previously played for Sunderland's academy, reserve, and senior te ...

on the same day. He made his first appearance of his second stint at Preston in a 2–1 home win over

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

on 2 January 2016. On 16 October 2016, Johnstone extended his contract at Manchester United until June 2018.

Loan to Aston Villa

On 5 January 2017, Johnstone joined Championship club Aston Villa on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season. He made his debut on 8 January 2017, in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

match against Tottenham Hotspur at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...

. During the period of this loan spell, he kept more clean sheets in the Championship than any other goalkeeper. In July 2017, he returned to Aston Villa on a loan deal until the end of the 2017–18 season.

West Bromwich Albion

On 3 July 2018, Johnstone signed a four-year contract with newly relegated Championship club

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

, for a transfer fee reported by ''

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

'' to be an initial £6.5 million. He was part of the West Brom team that lost to Aston Villa in the EFL Championship play-off semi-finals on penalties in May 2019. However, the following season, Sam Johnstone helped the club gain automatic promotion to the Premier League for the 2020–21 season. Despite some criticism from fans, Johnstone kept his place as West Brom's first-choice goalkeeper and went on to have a great season despite the club being relegated that year. Sam Johnstone produced a number of 'world class' saves throughout the season, securing vital points for the club on numerous occasions. On 15 December 2020, Johnstone produced two stoppage-time saves to deny

İlkay Gündoğan İlkay Gündoğan (born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Germany national team. Gündoğan came through VfL Bochum's youth academy. In 2008, he began playing for t ...

and

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, S ...

to secure a 1–1 draw for the club away at the home of future Premier League Champions, Manchester City. Johnstone also played well against former club Manchester United and reigning champions Liverpool, securing 1–1 draws against both. His fine form resulted in a trio of club awards at the end of the season, winning the Supporter's Player of the Year, Player's Player of the year and PFA Community Champion Award for his work off the field. West Brom were relegated again after the 2020–21 season, and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

approached them with a £10 million offer for Johnstone, which was rejected. With the club stuck mid-table in the Championship, Johnston didn't extend his contract.

Crystal Palace

On 21 June 2022, following a season with West Brom in the Championship, Johnstone agreed to join

on a free transfer, with him competing with

Vicente Guaita Vicente Guaita Panadero (; born 10 January 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Crystal Palace. He appeared in 176 La Liga matches over eight seasons with Valencia and Getafe, as well as a season on l ...

and

Jack Butland Jack Butland (born 10 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United, on loan from Crystal Palace. Butland began his career with Birmingham City, and made his debut in the Football League ...

for playing time.

International career

Johnstone was a part of the victorious England under-17 squad at the

2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the ninth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship, held in Liechtenstein from 18 to 30 May 2010. The hosts decided not to field a team, fearing it would not be competitive enou ...

. He made his debut for the England under-19 team against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

in September 2010. On 28 May 2013, he was named in the 21-man squad for England under-20s at the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

. He made his debut on 23 June in England's first match of the tournament, a 2–2 draw with

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. He played in England's three matches at the tournament as they were eliminated at the group stage. On 18 March 2021, Johnstone received his first call-up to the England senior team when he was named in the 26-man squad for their

2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tour ...

against

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He was named in the 26-man squad for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

, along with fellow goalkeepers Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson, and made his debut on 6 June in England's final pre-tournament friendly, a 1–0 win over

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

. On 1 June, Johnstone was named in the 26-man squad for the rescheduled

Personal life

Johnstone was born in Preston, Lancashire. His father is Glenn Johnstone, a former professional footballer who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for Preston North End in the early 1990s. His younger brother, Max, joined Manchester United as a youth-team player in September 2016. After a year with Sunderland under-23 team, Max joined Scottish club St Johnstone in July 2019.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Preston North End *

Football League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise ...

: 2015 England U17 *

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain is the most successful team in this ...

: 2010 England *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

runner-up:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Individual *West Bromwich Albion Supporters' Player of the Year:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

*West Bromwich Albion Players' Player of the Year: 2020–21

References

Infobox statistics *England U16: *England U17: *England U19: *England U20: Specific

External links

Profile
at the Crystal Palace F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Sam 1993 births Living people Footballers from Preston, Lancashire English footballers England youth international footballers England international footballers Association football goalkeepers Manchester United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2020 players Crystal Palace F.C. players