Sam Johnstone appears to mock Crystal Palace in sarcastic Instagram post after being stripped of his No 1 shirt and given a MUCH bigger number
As Mail Sport reported earlier this week, Crystal Palace have taken Sam Johnstone’s number 1 shirt and given it to England goalkeeper Dean Henderson in preparation for the new season.
Henderson wore number 30 last season after joining from Nottingham Forest for £15million, but finished the season as first-choice goalkeeper at Selhurst Park.
After being sidelined with a hamstring injury, Henderson made 18 Premier League appearances between December and May, while Johnstone made just four top-flight appearances after the turn of the year.
Henderson’s promotion to number one has seen Johnstone demoted to number 32 on Palace’s squad list, a spot that has been vacant since Levi Lumeka left the club in 2019.
Johnstone shared his new shirt number with his 348,000 followers via Instagram on Wednesday.
Sam Johnstone played for Crystal Palace in a friendly against Crawley Town last month
Johnstone has been replaced by Dean Henderson (pictured at the weekend) as Palace’s No.1
Johnstone posted a selfie of himself wearing his new number on a training shirt, writing: “New day, new number,” followed by four laughing emojis.
His message also included his new number, surrounded by a circle that lit up in bright colors. He sarcastically indicated that he was excited about the change.
Johnstone has been at Palace since joining from West Brom in 2022.
Like the 27-year-old Henderson, the 31-year-old Johnstone started his career at Manchester United.
Both goalkeepers have also represented England at senior international level. Johnstone has four caps to his name – three in 2021 and one last year, when he kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Australia.
Henderson went to Euro 2024 with England but did not play a single game. His only cap to date came back in 2020 when he played 45 minutes in a 3-0 win over Ireland.
Responding to his drop from No. 1 to No. 32, Johnstone posted: ‘New day, new song’
Johnstone made a save while playing for England in a 1-0 win over Australia last year
Palace finished tenth in the Premier League last season, having won six of their last seven games.
The Eagles open the 2024-25 season on Sunday with a trip to Brentford.