Southampton 'were in' for 6'4 England star at St Mary's

Southampton are “unlikely” to sign Sam Johnstone this summer, according to The Sun journalist Tom Barclay.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is hoping to sign another goalkeeper following the imminent departure of Fraser Forster, although Barclay doesn’t believe Johnstone will be the man to replace his England colleague.

With Forster on the verge of joining Tottenham and Willy Caballero out of contract, Saints need a keeper to provide competition and compete with Alex McCarthy, who recently made his return from injury.

Southampton were eyeing a deal for Johnstone in January, although with his contract expiring next month, they knew that waiting until the summer could see them land his services on a free transfer.

But Johnstone 6 ft 4, once described as ‘unreal,’ has been linked with both Tottenham and Manchester United, although the former withdrew their interest when Forster’s availability became apparent.

That appeared to improve Southampton’s chances of signing him, although Crystal Palace are also in the race.

As a result, Barclay doesn’t thinks Johnstone will end up signing for Hasenhuttl’s team this summer and expects them to look elsewhere.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “It’s quite unlikely it seems, from what I’ve heard that Johnstone will go to Southampton.

“They were in for him, I don’t know whether that’s a matter of wages or what, because you would think he would be a good option, but I’m told it’s unlikely that Southampton will get him.”

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Southampton still have plenty of time to fill the void left by Forster, but they’ll want a second keeper signed long before the start of pre-season.

Saints had been linked with Manchester United’s Dean Henderson, although