Ex-Doncaster Rovers scholar swaps Notts County trial for Dubai and signs first professional contract

Goalkeeper Kian Johnson, from Warmsworth, who left Rovers in the summer of 2020 having been at the club since Under-8s level, has joined Dubai City FC in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Kian, now 21, had been on trial at Doncaster’s League Two rivals Notts County since pre-season before receiving an offer to play in the UAE’s second division under the tutelage of British coaches.

"It was a no-brainer,” said the former Sir Thomas Wharton Academy pupil, who represented England Schoolboys as a teenager.

"Everyone grows up wanting to be a professional footballer so to be able to say I have done that is what people dream of.

"That’s always been the goal, now it’s there you have got to just carry on working hard and see where your career develops.”

The move came about through a contact of Kian’s agent working in the UAE.

Now Kian has begun training in 40-degree heat ready for the start of the country’s football season at the end of September.

Since leaving Rovers he has played for Worksop Town and Rossington Main and spent 18 months training with Derby County’s Under-21s.

"When I came out of Doncaster I was still a boy,” he said.

“Playing non-league week in, week out made me such a better keeper. Learning how to play different styles, especially when you are on windy pitches, I massively improved.

"Being able to train every day at Derby pushed me on massively. That was a very good 18 months down there improving every day.”

Kian is still in touch with several of his former Doncaster teammates, including Liam Ravenhill and Lirak Hisani.

The club’s head of academy goalkeeping, Steve Hernandez, was one of the first people he shared the good news with, along with former Rovers stopper Jan Budtz.

"Everyone says ‘it’s just an unbelievable opportunity, why don’t you go?’,” said Kian, who has signed a contract until December with a view to extending his stay.

“It’s a chance to go and play professional football in one of the best places in the world.

"You see the Saudi league growing and growing, this is what the UAE league is like now. (Andrés) Iniesta has just signed in the league above.”