Sporting Kansas City have announced the signing of Scottish winger Johnny Russell from Derby County. The player comes for an undisclosed fee but the player will be occupying an international roster slot.
History of Johnny Russell
The 27-year old started his career with Dundee United in the Scottish Championship and after brief stints, with Scottish teams in lower divisions he would go on to play just over 100 games for United. In his six years with the club (2007-13), Russell scored 31 goals and assist on 12 from the wing.
In the summer of 2013, Russell made a £750,000 transfer to English club Derby County. After a very strong start with the club, he would have fairly similar results to his time with United. After his 205 game stint with the club, he ended up with 35 goals and 34 assists.
Russell’s Playstyle
Johnny Russell has played a majority of his career on the left wing and has been known to cut inside from the outside. But with that, he has played anywhere across the attacking front line and has scored consistently from the center forward position.
His powerful finishing and ability to win aerial duels mean he can be particularly dynamic for a Kansas side in the bottom five for goals scored in the last season. He brings to this team a bit of speed and goal threat that the side lost after Dom Dwyer was traded in the summer and Latif Blessing was taken in the expansion draft. Russell will also be looking to get even more out of Diego Rubio who started to find his form after returning from an ACL tear that he suffered in late 2016.
Quotes
Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes had this to say on his newest signing, “Johnny Russell is a player with good attacking qualities who we are excited to bring to Kansas City in the very near term. We look forward to acclimating him to our club in preparation for the start of the season in just over a month. Sporting KC would also like to thank Mo Johnston, a former member of our club who was instrumental in helping make this acquisition possible.”
Quotes via Sporting Kansas City