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European Edition Wednesday, 02 September 2026
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Football

Celtic take goalkeeper Johnstone on loan from Wolves

Celtic take goalkeeper Johnstone on loan from Wolves

Former England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone joins Celtic on a season-long loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Former England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has joined Celtic on a season-long loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 33-year-old will provide competition for Finland international Viljami Sinisalo at the Scottish champions.

Johnstone, who won the last of his four caps in 2023, made 17 appearances last season but lost his Premier League starting place at relegated Wolves in December and has not played since an FA Cup loss to Liverpool in early March.

"I'm buzzing to be here and I'm excited to get going," said the goalkeeper, who began his career at Manchester United and has had spells at Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palce.

Talking to club media, he added: "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.

"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.

"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."

Kasper Schmeichel had been first choice at Celtic since the summer of 2024, but played his last game in February and subsequently retired due to a shoulder injury.

"He is a quality keeper with excellent experience at the highest level," said manager Martin O'Neill said of Johnstone. "I think he will be a very good addition to our goalkeeping team."

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