Sunderland could now swoop for £10m Wolves player on loan after making key appointment.

Wolves supporters are expecting that the upcoming week will bring news of new signings. Pre-season begins soon, with Wolves travelling to the Algarve for some warm weather training.

Several players will not be returning to Compton tomorrow due to international commitments, but the majority will join the squad in Portugal.

Vitor Pereira’s situation is not ideal, thus any additional acquisitions in the coming days would be greatly appreciated. However, additional players are expected to quit the club, and Sam Johnstone appears unlikely to join the squad in the Algarve.

Johnstone wants to quit Wolves after failing to establish himself as the club’s number one after joining from Crystal Palace for about £10 million last season.

Sunderland seemed to be poised to strike.

Sunderland set to move for Sam Johnstone on loan

According to Alan Nixon, Sunderland may now consider a loan transfer for Johnstone. Sunderland was mentioned as a possible destination for Johnstone a few weeks ago, with Nixon speculating that the appointment of custodian coach Neil Cutler could be a factor in his move.

Cutler previously worked with Johnstone at Aston Villa and Wolverhampton.

Cutler has now joined Sunderland, and Nixon has suggested that a transfer for Johnstone may now be possible – but only on a loan basis, given the player has a couple of years left on his contract. Sunderland has been looking at pricey goalkeepers up to this point, but Johnstone could be a bargain.

The Black Cats have been quite busy this summer, spending more than £60 million on Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, and Enzo Le Fee, who has signed permanently after a loan move.

Johnstone transfer a disaster for Wolves

So Johnstone might go on loan to Sunderland for the 2025/26 season. This might be done to increase Johnstone’s market worth while also removing Wolves’ pay from the cost.

But Johnstone would return next year with only a year left on his deal, meaning he would most likely be worth less than the £10 million Wolves paid for him.

Of course, there might be a great surprise and Johnstone returns to the team. But that doesn’t seem likely.

The Johnstone transfer has been one of Wolves’ worst in many years; for a team like Wolves to pay £10 million on a custodian only to have him spend the most of his time on the bench is simply unacceptable.

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