Adam Johnson

Adam Johnson (born 14 July 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger.

A product of the Middlesbrough youth academy, he came to prominence after making his debut aged 17 in a UEFA Cup match.

He made 120 appearances for Middlesbrough, also spending time on loan at Leeds United and Watford.

At the age of 12, Johnson was taken in by Middlesbrough's youth academy, having previously attended Newcastle United's Centre of Excellence between 1995 and 1997.

He and his Boro teammates David Wheater, Tony McMahon and Andrew Taylor were part of the squad that won the 2003–04 FA Youth Cup.

He made his senior début aged 17 on 17 March 2005 in the UEFA Cup in the 1–0 defeat away to Sporting CP which saw the club eliminated 4–2 on aggregate in the last 16, replacing Doriva for the last 11 minutes.

Almost six months later, on 10 September, he made his Premier League debut, and first senior start, deputising for the injured fellow academy product Stewart Downing in a 2–1 home win against Arsenal.

For much of the first half of the 2005–06 season, he was on the bench as an unused substitute, mainly in the UEFA Cup matches.

He made his second start in the competition against Litex Lovech on 15 December and set up Massimo Maccarone's first goal in a 2–0 win.

For the rest of the season, he remained in the team's matchday squads, albeit as Downing's deputy or an unused substitute.

Johnson's first goal for Middlesbrough came in a midweek Premier League match away to Bolton Wanderers on 3 May 2006, opening the scoring in a 1–1 draw with "a mazy run from the left flank before curling in a deflected shot".

He was playing due to Middlesbrough's involvement in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, which was to be played a week later as Steve McClaren rested most of the first team squad.

On 30 June 2006, he signed a new four-year contract extension.

On 16 October 2006, he joined Leeds United on a month-long loan after being signed by Leeds' caretaker manager John Carver, but with Leeds struggling in the Championship, it was hard for Johnson to impress despite getting the man of the match award on his debut.

After playing four matches during his month-long loan spell, Johnson returned to Middlesbrough as Leeds chose not to extend his loan.

Later on in the season, he came on as a substitute in the FA Cup replay with Bristol City and played a vital role in seeing Middlesbrough through to the next round by setting up one goal and scoring the winning penalty in the shootout.

In September 2007, Johnson joined Championship club Watford on a three-month loan.

He played 12 matches for the club, scoring five times, before being recalled to Middlesbrough earlier than stipulated in the deal following some brilliant performances.

Coincidentally, Watford's form dipped after his departure.

In the final match of the season, he scored an 18 yd strike from a loose ball just minutes after coming on as a substitute in Boro's 8–1 victory over Manchester City.

In the 2008–09 season, he managed to make 32 appearances, half of those as substitutes as Downing was first choice.

He managed to start most of the fixtures near the end of the season when Downing was ruled out with a long-term injury.

Johnson became an important part of Boro's Championship team for the 2009–10 season following Downing's transfer to Aston Villa, scoring three of Boro's five goals in the first three matches.

He led the Boro scoring charts, with eight goals, for the entire first half of the season despite being a winger, which led to new manager Gordon Strachan expressing his concern about overrelying on Johnson for goals.

In the 18 August match at Scunthorpe United, he missed a penalty awarded for a foul on Rhys Williams and scored another after being tripped by the Scunthorpe goalkeeper in the penalty box when both went for the rebound.

After a bright start to the season, the highly rated youngster became a subject of transfer rumours, but the Boro management insisted that he would not be sold.

He chose not to extend his contract, however, which was to end after the 2009–10 season.

On 13 December, he was substituted for Marvin Emnes after picking up a hamstring injury in the 1–0 home loss to Cardiff City but returned to score a penalty against Scunthorpe in a 3–0 win, thus taking his goal tally into double figures.

He scored a brace for the third time in the season when he turned in a man of the match performance against Doncaster Rovers on 26 January to end Boro's winless away streak stretching back to October.

In February 2010, Johnson moved to Manchester City, where he won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League the following season.

He was signed by his hometown club Sunderland for £10 million in 2012.

Johnson played at various levels for England, earning 12 caps at senior level.

In March 2015, Johnson was arrested and charged over sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl, with England's age of consent being 16.

Johnson continued to play for Sunderland during his bail.

The following February, he pleaded guilty to two charges against him, the other being one of child grooming, and was subsequently sacked by Sunderland.

In March 2016, Johnson was found guilty of sexual activity with a child and sentenced to six years in prison.

He was released in 2019 after serving half his sentence.

Johnson was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and brought up in Easington, County Durham, in North East England.

He played for Cleveland Juniors Football Club and attended Easington Community Science College.

Upon seeing Johnson score two goals at a Wembley Stadium seven-a-side school match, Johnny Haynes told Johnson he was "a great little player" with "a lovely left foot".