Celtic have moved to strengthen their last line of defence, securing England international goalkeeper Sam Johnstone on a season-long loan from Wolves, subject to international clearance.
At 33, Johnstone arrives as anything but a project. He slots into a goalkeeping group that already includes Viljami Sinisalo and Ross Doohan, bringing with him more than a decade of experience in English football since emerging from Manchester United’s academy in 2011.
He has spent the last two seasons at Wolves, making 17 appearances for the Premier League side last term. On the international stage, he boasts four England caps and four clean sheets – a flawless record that underlines the pedigree Celtic are buying into.
If there were any doubts about his enthusiasm for the move, Johnstone quickly killed them.
"It's a great feeling, I'm buzzing to be here and I'm excited to get going," he told CelticPlayer after signing. 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."
The message from Hart – a modern Celtic favourite and a respected figure in the goalkeeping fraternity – clearly hit home. Johnstone knows exactly the sort of environment he is walking into.
He also understands the dynamic of a goalkeeper’s union, and he expects the competition to be sharp rather than hostile.
"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."
One day at Lennoxtown was enough to confirm what he already suspected.
"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."
For Celtic, this is about more than numbers in the squad. It is about raising standards in a position that often defines seasons.
Manager Martin O'Neill underlined that point as he welcomed his new goalkeeper.
"We are really happy to welcome Sam to Celtic. 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."
Celtic now have an England international with a perfect clean-sheet record at that level, a seasoned Premier League performer, and a man openly embracing the pressure that comes with the shirt. The next question is simple: how quickly can he turn that excitement into decisive moments in front of a full house?
