Neil: Signing Sam is our No.1 priority

SAM Johnstone’s Villa team-mates would love Steve Bruce to sign the Manchester United goalkeeper permanently.

Left-back Neil Taylor has revealed how impressed the players have been with Johnstone and insists it is better for him to be playing competitively with Bruce’s team than sitting on the sidelines at Old Trafford.

Johnstone initially joined Villa on loan last January before he was recruited again for the current season. They want to keep him but his parent club cast doubt over the prospect of a full transfer next month when it was reported they were to trigger a clause to extend his contract beyond the end of the season.

The thinking behind it is so Jose Mourinho’s men can demand a higher fee as his deal expires in July 2018. If United take up the option on Johnstone, it will give them more security as his prospects of usurping David De Gea remain slim, no matter how he performs at Villa.

“I’d like to see him here permanently – any player playing as well as that you would like to keep,” Taylor said. “But clubs like United don’t extend your deal for no good reason.

“Sam can be as good as he wants – he’s still a young goalkeeper. He should kick on from here and the sky’s the limit for Sam. But the most important thing is he’s playing at a decent level – not sitting on the bench in the Premier League.”

Johnstone, 24, gave his take on what the future holds and said: “I’m here until the end of the season and I’m just happy playing at the moment.

“Whether it’s in January or summer I don’t know, but the rest of it will take care of itself.”

Johnstone, who has previously enjoyed loan spells with Walsall and Doncaster, has established himself as a first-team regular and an important member of Bruce’s promotion-chasing team.