Wolves technical director Matt Jackson has provided some rare insight on the Midlands club's transfer activity this summer, and the update includes new Celtic goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
The 33-year-old former England international has joined Celtic on a season-long loan, with the Hoops paying the bulk of his wages. Celtic have needed a back-up keeper to provide genuine competition for Viljami Sinisalo after Kasper Schmeichel retired in the summer.
Sinisalo has enjoyed a very solid start to the season, so it's likely he will be given a long runway to be the starter over the coming weeks. But Johnstone is certainly good enough to provide genuine competition, and he will believe he can win the starting job, even if it takes time.
That's the sort of competition O'Neill will want at every position, including the goalkeeper position. And if Johnstone does well, Celtic will be well-placed to sign him on the cheap next summer, when he will have one year left on his deal, and there is no indication that Wolves want him back.
Wolves chief explains Johnstone exit
“We knew at the start of the summer that we would be likely to revamp the goalkeeper department," Wolves chief Jackson told the club website.
“Dan Bentley went to Coventry and Sam now has a brilliant opportunity to go to a massive football club. It will be great for him to get a real taste of first-team football that he hasn’t had for a little while and he deserves the opportunity.
“It’s so difficult for goalkeepers, because you’ve always got frustrated players behind the starter, and teams obviously don’t tend to rotate goalkeepers, so it can be frustrating.
“Sam wants to play all the time, and that’s why he’s been one of the top goalkeepers and he can certainly get back to those levels again. He’s a senior professional that you can have honest conversations with. He drives himself to the high standards, and he goes with our best wishes.”
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