Darius Johnson (footballer) explained

Darius Johnson
Birth Date:15 March 2000
Birth Place:Chelsea, England
Height:1.82 m
Position:Forward
Youthclubs1:The Harrow Club
Clubs1:Rising Ballers
Years2:2019
Clubs2:Kensington & Ealing Borough
Caps2:5
Years3:2019–2024
Clubs3:Volendam
Caps3:51
Goals3:2
Years4:2019–2023
Clubs4:Jong Volendam
Caps4:34
Goals4:7
Nationalyears1:2023–
Nationalteam1:Grenada
Nationalcaps1:4
Nationalgoals1:0
Club-Update:19 May 2024
Nationalteam-Update:04:56, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Darius Johnson (born 15 March 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in England, he plays for the Grenada national team.

Club career

As a youngster, Johnson had various internships and trials with football clubs, firstly with Queens Park Rangers before heading off to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Crawley Town and Oxford United, but failed to secure permanent terms.[1] After a subsequent break from football, Johnson returned at the age of seventeen to play for The Harrow Club at youth level.[1] During his time with them, Johnson played in a friendly against YouTube team Rising Ballers; who subsequently signed the forward.[1] [2] He would eventually leave the club, prior to joining Combined Counties Football League side Kensington & Ealing Borough.[1]

After making five appearances for the semi-professional outfit, Johnson joined Chelsea on trial.[1] He earned the possibility of a contract after featuring in Premier League 2 against Brighton & Hove Albion, but was unable to sign due to Chelsea's ongoing transfer ban.[1] Johnson secured a trial with Dutch team FC Volendam in mid-2019.[1] [3] He was given a professional deal soon after, having appeared in an exhibition match versus VPV Purmersteijn.[1] [4] He made his pro debut on 23 August 2019 during a 3–0 loss away to De Graafschap, as he came off the bench to replace Nick Doodeman after seventy-nine minutes.

Johnson scored his first FC Volendam league goal on 13 September, netting in a home draw against FC Dordrecht.

His contract with Volendam ended in the summer of 2022[5] but he reappeared for the club's second team in October 2022 playing in the Tweede Divisie. He also appeared as a late substitute in the last two games of the season for the first team, which meant his debut in the Dutch Eredivisie.

International career

Born in England, Johnson is of Grenadian descent. He was called up to the Grenada national team for a set of 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League matches in September 2023.[6]

Career statistics

.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Volendam2019–20Eerste Divisie1311000141
2020–2180100090
2021–2200000000
2022–23Eredivisie20000020
2023–242511000261
Career total4823000512

Notes and References

  1. News: Het verhaal van de Engelse Youtuber die bij FC Volendam tekende. 28 August 2019. Vice. 27 August 2019.
  2. News: Meet Darius Johnson...The Teenager Behind Viral 'Two-Footed First Touch' Video. 28 August 2019. Sport Bible. 25 June 2019.
  3. News: From the streets to pro baller in Netherlands via Chelsea: the story of Darius Johnson. 28 August 2019. Goal. 29 July 2019.
  4. News: Darius Johnson kiest voor FC Volendam. 28 August 2019. FC Volendam. 25 July 2019.
  5. Web site: Overzicht: alle afgeronde inkomende en uitgaande transfers in de Eredivisie. voetbalprimeur.nl. 2 September 2022. 6 January 2023.
  6. https://associatestimes.com/grenada-know-football-squad-for-concacaf-nations-league-match-against-suriname/