What is ex-Derby County player Johnny Russell up to these days? | OneFootball

Back in the summer of 2013, Derby County were building to try and improve on their 10th-placed finish in the previous season's Championship standings, and they made a number of signings that summer in an attempt to assist then-manager Nigel Clough with his goals.

It wasn't Clough in the end that took them to third position and the play-offs in 2013-14 - that was Steve McClaren, but one of their key players that year and for the following few seasons was Johnny Russell, who took the step from Scottish football to the Championship in his stride.

The Rams paid out £750,000 to Dundee United for Russell's services after he had netted 20 times for the Tangerines in all competitions the season prior, and in his debut year at County he slotted in nine goals as they just fell short of returning to the Premier League.

Russell was somewhat of a creative machine at times for Derby, with eight goals and 15 assists in 2014-15 and a 'double-double' the following season with 10 goals and 11 assists, but in January 2018 his four-and-a-half year association with the club came to an end.

Whilst he was still playing regularly, the winger wasn't always starting matches and when MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City came in with a £250,000 offer for his services, the Scotsman and Derby decided to part ways to let him play more often across the Atlantic Ocean.

Over five years on since he left Derby, what is Russell getting up to now though?

Well, he has quite clearly been loving life over in the States as he remains a SKC player to this very day.

Russell arrived in the USA as a 27-year-old at the peak of a player's powers in general, and he really has been effective as he was able to immediately make an impact.

He scored 10 times and notched nine assists in the 2018 MLS season, but his best campaign in terms of goalscoring came in 2021 when he fired in 16 goals and seven assists as Kansas City made the MLS play-offs whilst he captained the side for most of the season, only to lose in the quarter-finals to Real Salt Lake.

Now 32 years of age, Russell was still starting week in, week out in 2022 for SKC and after missing the first few matches of the new campaign through injury, he appeared for the first time off the bench against the Seattle Sounders this past weekend.

Russell is a 'designated player' at his current club, which is a special type of MLS contract in which franchises can sign upto three players under the rule which allows them to spend over the salary cap.