Why Signing Brad Jones Would Signal The End Of Sam Johnstone At Aston Villa
As Sam Johnstone comes close to the end of his loan deal at Aston Villa, the thoughts turn to who will be between the sticks for the Villans next season. A name that has come up recently is former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones. The Feyenoord stopper has a contract until the summer of 2019 but recent reports have strongly linked him with a move to Aston Villa next season.
After beating Wolves to put the pressure on Cardiff in 2nd place, Villa have slipped to two defeats to give the top two in the Championship a healthy lead that will be hard to cross in the remaining games. The defeat to Bolton will be especially disappointing with the number of chances that they missed.
However, the Lions are still in prime position to be the team to beat when the playoffs come around, and this season could yet end in a return to the Premier League for the West Midlands side.
On-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has had a brilliant season for Villa and alongside John Terry, has been part of a defence that has only conceded 37 goals. His future is also in doubt as the young English keeper only has a contract at Manchester United until the end of June, and there have been talks that Aston Villa may want to sign him permanently in the summer.
So far, however, nothing has been agreed and it is unlikely that he would want to go back to sitting on the bench in the Premier League if Brad Jones does come in.
There is also the question of finances at Villa Park. Since their relegation, the road has been rocky for Villa and if they miss out on promotion again, the future looks bleak. This may mean that they have to cut back on wages and transfer fees, so for Tony Xia, it may be a case of assessing which of these two keepers will be cheaper. That may not be what Aston Villa fans will want to hear but the reality of the Championship starts to bite if you spend too long down there.
Brad Jones is an Australian international who has played in the Eredivisie for two seasons and he could certainly add to the Aston Villa squad but for Villa fans, they must be concerned that the club would be so willing to let go of one of the most exciting young English keepers in the Football League so easily.