Johnny Russell
HOW ACQUIRED: Transferred from Derby County on Jan. 31, 2018. Signed a three-year contract with an option for 2021.
Russell is a winger who brings good attacking qualities to Kansas City after spending his professional career in the United Kingdom.
INTERNATIONAL: Russell has earned four career caps for Scotland, including one appearance in UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying. He received his first call to the senior squad in May 2012 for a friendly against the United States, but did not feature in the match. Russell landed his debut in a November 2014 friendly against England and featured in two more friendlies the following year as Scotland defeated Northern Ireland and Qatar, respectively. In October 2015, he contributed to Scotland’s 6-0 victory over Gibraltar in Group D of UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying. As a youth international, Russell represented Scotland at the U-19 and U-21 levels. He netted twice in 10 matches for the U-19s between 2007-2010, then logged 11 appearances for the Scotland U-21s from 2010-2012, tallying one goal in 2013 UEFA U-21 European Championship Qualifying.
OUTSIDE MLS: Russell has scored 94 goals during a 12-year professional career in England and his native Scotland. The attacking player arrives at Sporting KC after five seasons with Derby County in the second-division English Football League Championship, where he struck 34 goals in 203 competitive appearances. Russell has played 23 matches throughout the 2017-18 EFL Championship campaign, bagging four goals while helping Derby occupy second place in the current league standings.
Stats
| Date | Match | Result | Appearance | MINS | G | A | SHTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/09/2018 | SKC @ POR | T 0-0 | Started | 78 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6/03/2018 | MIN @ SKC | W 1-4 | Unused Sub | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5/27/2018 | CLB @ SKC | T 0-0 | Started | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5/20/2018 | SKC @ MIN | T 1-1 | Started | 90 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5/09/2018 | SKC @ ATL | W 2-0 | Started | 82 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5/05/2018 | COL @ SKC | W 0-1 | Started | 88 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4/28/2018 | SKC @ NE | L 0-1 | Started | 90 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4/20/2018 | VAN @ SKC | W 0-6 | Started | 52 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 4/15/2018 | SEA @ SKC | T 2-2 | Started | 85 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4/08/2018 | SKC @ LA | W 2-0 | Started | 88 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3/31/2018 | DC @ SKC | W 0-1 | Started | 90 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3/24/2018 | SKC @ COL | T 2-2 | Started | 88 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/17/2018 | SJ @ SKC | W 2-3 | Started | 90 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3/10/2018 | SKC @ CHI | W 4-3 | Started | 89 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3/04/2018 | NYC @ SKC | L 2-0 | Started | 90 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
