Ryan Anthony Johnson (born 2 October 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club AFC Wimbledon.
Johnson signed for League Two club Port Vale in June 2021 before joining Stockport County in January 2022 for an undisclosed fee.
[11] A month later, on 24 October 2014, Johnson joined the Conference South club Boreham Wood on a one-month loan deal in order to "gain valuable first-team experience".
[15] Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Johnson was loaned to the National League South club St Albans City with teammate Dipo Akinyemi until January 2017.
[17] He made his debut on the opening day of the new season, playing the whole match as St Albans secured a 2–0 home win over Concord Rangers at Clarence Park.
[19] He suffered a knee injury while on international duty with the Northern Ireland under-21 team in September 2016 and was ruled out of action for two months, returning to the St Albans first-team at the start of December 2016.
[14] In April 2017, he spent a week on trial at the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, playing 77 minutes in the development team's 4–1 defeat to Everton under-23s.
[22] No move materialised, and at the end of the month he went on a week-long trial at Norwich City,[23] playing the whole match in a 0–0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion under-23s.
[24] Despite reported interest from Premier League and Championship clubs,[25] Johnson remained at Stevenage and in July 2017, before the 2017–18 season, he rejoined Boreham Wood on a season-long loan agreement.
[14] Johnson was loaned once again on 5 January 2018, this time joining the National League North club Nuneaton Town for the remainder of the season.
[35] Several days later, Johnson went on a one-week trial with National League club Hartlepool United, playing in a friendly match against Darlington.
[42] Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke said that "Ryan is a powerful left footed centre-half and at 24 is still a very good age in terms of development".
[7] Johnson found first-team opportunities limited in the first half of the 2021–22 season,[43][44] starting three league matches and making eight appearances in all competitions during his time there.
[47] Johnson scored his first goal for the club on 15 January 2022, in a 3–0 victory against Larkhall Athletic in an FA Trophy fixture at Edgeley Park.
[51] Johnson joined fellow League Two club AFC Wimbledon on a two-year contract on 26 June 2023, with the head of football operations Craig Cope describing him as "a real physical presence at the back".
[58] Johnson was first called up to represent Northern Ireland at under-21 level in September 2015, when he played the whole match in a 2–1 loss to Scotland under-21s in a 2017 UEFA European under-21 Championship qualifier.