Sam Johnstone has impressed during his first season in the Premier League — and the West Brom keeper has been rewarded with an England call-up following Jordan Pickford’s injury. 

Johnstone, 27, is one of three stoppers in Gareth Southgate’s latest squad, alongside Burnley’s Nick Pope and Manchester United’s Dean Henderson.

England’s World Cup qualifying home games with San Marino on Thursday and Poland next Wednesday sandwich a trip to Albania, in what is set to be a busy week for the Three Lions.

Despite playing behind the Premier League's worst defence, could Baggies ace Johnstone be in line to make his debut?

A long wait

Having played at youth level when progressing through Manchester United's academy, Johnstone is no stranger to the England set-up.

But this is his first taste of a senior Three Lions camp — eight years after his last involvement with the Under-21s, which came when Southgate was in charge.

The Three Lions boss said: "I've not worked with Sam since I was in with the U-21s and he's now had several seasons of league football under his belt.

"You know there are some goalkeepers who were close again, some close calls. 

"Karl Darlow has had a very good season with Newcastle and has probably found himself out of the team at just the wrong time."

Worst defence in the league

It has not been a quiet introduction to the top flight for Johnstone, who has been the busiest keeper behind the Premier League’s worst defence.

The Baggies have shipped a whopping 57 goals in 29 games, with Johnstone playing 28 times and conceding 55 of them.

An immediate return to the Championship looks a certainty with nine games of the season remaining — but Johnstone remains upbeat. 

He said: "It's totally different to last year when we were top of the Championship, when now and again you'd make a save and we'd dominate games.

"But it's not affected my confidence. I love making saves, especially against these top players."

Impressive stats

And the stats show that Johnstone’s displays have not been an issue for West Brom, with the highly-rated keeper actually excelling in the midst of their crisis.

His tally of 115 saves is the joint most in the league alongside Leeds goalie Illan Meslier, while he has not made a single individual error leading to a goal this term.

To put that into context, both Pickford and Pope have made two, with Henderson making one despite his limited playing time.

Johnstone likes to command his area but is more likely to punch the ball than catch it. And while he is similar to Pickford in that regard, there is no doubting Burnley keeper Pope is the standout candidate when it comes to claiming crosses.

While the stats show Pope and Liverpool's Alisson Becker rush out of their box to mop up opposition attacks nearly twice as much as any other keeper, Johnstone is among the best of the rest — just behind Manchester City's Ederson and Manchester United stopper David de Gea.

Following Johnstone's call-up, Southgate said: "Although his club have had a difficult season, he has maintained a good level of performance.

"It's a good opportunity for him and it's a good opportunity for Dean [Henderson] and for Nick [Pope], with Jordan not being here this time."

The passing issue

Southgate has long backed Pickford as his No1, despite errors for Everton, largely due to his distribution and ability with the ball at his feet.

It has undoubtedly held Pope, 28, back — and due to West Brom’s league position and style, Johnstone has also not been able to prove he is comfortable receiving passes when under pressure.

Given the style Southgate wants England to implement, it is an absolute necessity for his keeper to play out from the back and Johnstone will only be able to show that if he is given the chance.

Will he get an opportunity?

While England do have three games in seven days, they are all World Cup qualifiers and the run of fixtures ends with the biggest test of the lot against Poland.

This is a big week for Pope with Pickford injured and the smart money would be on him playing against San Marino on Thursday and Albania on Sunday to ensure he is comfortable by the time Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski and Co visit Wembley.

If Southgate is going to hand a chance to one of the other keepers, 24-year-old Henderson is more likely to be given the nod.

Of course, Johnstone has every chance of making the Euro 2020 squad — but the training pitch will likely be where he gets the opportunity to catch the eye.