Manchester United would potentially increase Sam Johnstone’s pricetag if Aston Villa are promoted, according to Manchester Evening News.
The local newspaper claim that Johnstone’s value is set to inflate if the Villans win promotion, and this could lead to Manchester United demanding a higher price for the goalkeeper then previously thought.
Manchester Evening News report that the Premier League club have triggered an option in Johnstone’s contract in order to extend it until 2019.
It is believed that Tony Xia has enthusiastically expressed an interest in signing the 24-year-old goalkeeper permanently and Bruce is known to be keen on signing Johnstone, after he previously commented on the club’s chances of signing him.
“It would be great to keep him here for the next few years as Villa’s No.1,” Bruce said, as quoted by the Express and Star.
“The ideal move for us would be to buy him in January, you’ve seen it, a young goalkeeper coming in and getting better with every game he plays.”
The 24-year-old is currently on loan at Aston Villa and has made 34 league appearances to help them sit third in the Championship.
OPINION
Johnstone has become a reliable pair of hands at the back for the Villans, having kept 14 clean sheets this season. However, the 24-year-old’s long-term future does look like being away from Villa Park, with this latest report throwing a spanner in the works to any potential deal. The goalkeeper was always going to cost a high price, so the fact that this report believe his pricetag will increase if the Villans are promoted is worrying. The Villans will not want to go spend a crazy amount on one transfer if promoted to the Premier League, and know there are several areas of their team that they need to improve. If Manchester United demand too much for their 24-year-old then the Villans will simply pull out of the race.