Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Gary O’Neil has admitted Jose Sa is likely to seek a move from Molineux if he cannot win back the club’s No 1 spot from new signing Sam Johnstone.
Sa is expected to stay until at least January and sporting director Matt Hobbs claimed last month he and Johnstone will fight for the first-team spot.
But O’Neil has conceded that the Portugal international will not be happy to play understudy to Johnstone and would be expected to seek a move if he cannot force his way back into the first XI.
“Jose knows that he needs to be here and he needs to fight but of course things can change in the future,” said O’Neil.
“I understand that Jose won’t want to be a No 2, or whatever he may be, for too long, especially at this stage in his career and with the quality that he has.
“Nobody does. You see it at other clubs where, for a while, you can keep two No 1s together. And then after that, it becomes difficult.
“Even at Crystal Palace, if you look at Sam, he was there with Dean Henderson for a little while but then at a certain point, people go off and find a way to be No.1 again.
“So if Jose doesn’t get that here, I’m sure in the future he will look to go and get that regular football somewhere else.
“But as it stands at this moment, conversations with me and him have been honest and professional and we are both understanding of the situation.”
Wolves signed Johnstone on transfer deadline day for £10million from Crystal Palace and the England international was handed an immediate debut in the 1-1 Premier League draw at Nottingham Forest.
Sa was excused from that game to process the news of Johnstone’s signing and consider his options with the Saudi Arabia window still open, but he has returned to training this week after international duty.
O’Neil played down reports that Sa would not even be his No 2 goalkeeper for the remainder of the season, although he refused to guarantee either Sa or fellow goalkeeper Dan Bentley a spot on the bench behind Johnstone.
“It depends on how they are and how they perform so if we do choose Sam to be the No 1 in a certain game, Dan and Jose will fight out to be No 2 in that game,” he said.
“But Jose is a good goalkeeper so while he’s here he has a really good chance of impacting the matchday squads and the starting XI because of the quality that he has.”
Wolves will check on the fitness of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mario Lemina ahead of Sunday’s game with Newcastle at Molineux after the pair were withdrawn from international duty due to minor injuries.
But defender Yerson Mosquera is expected to be fit despite being carried off with cramp during Colombia’s 2-1 win over Argentina on Tuesday.
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(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
