Former Doncaster Rovers and Derby County goalkeeper embarks on second season out in Dubai

After a successful first campaign for Dubai City FC, Doncaster-born Kian Johnson has returned after agreeing fresh terms.

He impressed for them in his maiden season and is now looking forward to another year in a setting where he says "the standard is constantly growing".

Indeed, ex-Premier League players such as Ravel Morrison, Matthew Lowton and Harry Arter are set to compete against Johnson this coming season as the league grows in prominence. All three are at Precision FC, who City will come up against in the UAE Second Division.

After some impressive displays between the posts in what was a tough season for City, Johnson drew admiring glances from elsewhere. The stopper is a former pupil at Sir Thomas Wharton Academy and was at Rovers for a decade up until his departure in 2020. He also spent 18 months at Derby County and represented England Schools at under-18 level but has now built a strong reputation in UAE footballing circles.

The 21-year-old spent pre-season training with big-spending Arabian Falcons FC who were last season's runaway champions. But a deal fell through and last year saw him return to the UK where he trained with Scunthorpe United under former Rovers manager and player Andy Butler.

"I really enjoyed it at Scunthorpe to be honest, it’s a good group pushing for promotion and I knew Andy and John Schofield from my time at Rovers," he tells the Free Press. "They were great with me and training with them helped keep me in form and continued bringing me on."

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Johnson then spent time with Gainsborough Trinity, during which time he saw first hand their excellent run in the FA Cup when they reached the second round only to lose out to League Two side Harrogate Town.

Upon his return to the UAE, Johnson trialled for the Falcons and even played a friendly against Russian giants Lokomotiv Moscow, putting in a promising performance and enhancing his growing reputation in the Middle East. After negotiations fell through there, he signed terms with Dubai City once more and is looking forward to what this year has to bring.

"It’s really good to be back especially off the back of how good last season was for me personally," he adds. "The quality is going up and up, 100 per cent. It was a no-brainer for me to come back for another year."