| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marvin Nicholas Johnson [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 December 1990 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England [3] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, wing-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Port Vale | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Solihull Moors | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2010 | Solihull Moors [a] | 5 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Coleshill Town (loan) | ||
| 2010–2012 | Romulus | ||
| 2012–2015 | Kidderminster Harriers | 108 | (17) |
| 2014 | → Hednesford Town (loan) | 6 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Motherwell | 53 | (6) |
| 2016–2017 | Oxford United | 41 | (3) |
| 2017–2021 | Middlesbrough | 97 | (5) |
| 2018–2019 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2021–2025 | Sheffield Wednesday | 150 | (9) |
| 2025– | Port Vale | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:31, 3 May 2025 (UTC) | |||
Marvin Nicholas Johnson (born 1 December 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back for EFL League One club Port Vale.
Johnson started his career in non-League football, playing for Solihull Moors, Coleshill Town (on loan), Romulus, Kidderminster Harriers, and Hednesford Town (on loan). He scored 20 goals in 120 games across all competitions for Kidderminster to win himself a move to Scottish Premiership club Motherwell in February 2015. He was sold on to Oxford United in August 2016 for what was reported to be a club record fee of around £650,000. He stayed with the club for 12 months and played for Oxford in their defeat in the 2017 EFL Trophy final. He was sold to Middlesbrough for a fee in the region of £2.5 million. He spent the 2018–19 season on loan at Sheffield United, who won promotion out of the Championship in second place. He played 103 games for Middlesbrough, of which 97 were Championship appearances, and was released after a four-year stay. He joined Sheffield Wednesday in August 2021 and was promoted out of League One through the play-offs in 2023. In total, he played 169 games in four years at the club. He signed with Port Vale in October 2025.
Johnson began his career with Solihull Moors, and spent a loan spell at Coleshill Town. [3] While a Solihull Moors player he won the FA County Youth Cup in May 2009 representing Birmingham FA. [7] In March 2010 he was linked with a transfer to Rushall Olympic, [8] but after he was released by Moors during the 2010 close season he signed for Romulus, [5] [9] and was their top scorer in the 2011–12 season. [10] [11]
While playing for Romulus, Johnson had a five-day trial at Championship club Burnley in December 2011. [12] He moved from Romulus to Kidderminster Harriers in February 2012. [13] In January 2013 he received interest from a number of Football League clubs, including Crewe Alexandra, Colchester United and Northampton Town. [14]
He had a loan spell with Hednesford Town at the end of the 2013–14 season, [15] playing in the Conference North play-off semi-final defeat to Altrincham. [16] Johnson signed a new one-year contract with the Harriers in June 2014. [17] He scored ten goals from the wing in the first half of the 2014–15 season, [4] making him the club's top-scorer. [18]
In February 2015 he was one of four players to sign for Scottish club Motherwell on transfer deadline day. [19] Before signing with Motherwell he had been in advanced talks with Football League club Yeovil Town. [20] Johnson signed a three-year contract extension with Motherwell in June 2015. [21]
At the end of the 2014-2015 season, with Motherwell facing potential relegation from the Scottish Premiership, Johnson featured in both legs of their play-off tie against Rangers, who had finished in third place in the Championship. After helping them to a 3–1 win in the first leg at Ibrox, [22] Johnson scored Motherwell's first goal in a 3–0 victory in the second leg at Fir Park [23] that ensured their Premiership survival.
On 31 August 2016, transfer deadline day, Johnson signed for Oxford United of League One for an undisclosed sum [24] which according to the Oxford Mail is believed to be a club record fee, in the region of £650,000. [25] On 23 November, the same week his second child was born, he scored his first goal for the club, the only goal in a 1–0 League One victory over Gillingham at the Kassam Stadium. [26] In his first season, having already appeared 9 times for Motherwell (scoring 4 times), Johnson made 52 appearances for Oxford (39 of them in league fixtures) and scored 6 goals (3 in the league). [27] He played in the final of the League Trophy at Wembley (a game Oxford lost 2–1 to Coventry City). [28]
After prolonged speculation about his Oxford future, during which he was linked with Hull City and Birmingham City, Johnson signed a three-year contract with Middlesbrough on deadline day, 31 August 2017, after serving one season of his three-year contract. [29] The undisclosed transfer deal was described by Oxford chairman Darryl Eales as "highly attractive", and believed to be in the region of £2.5 million. [30]
He moved on loan to Sheffield United in August 2018. [31]
His contract expired at the end of the 2019–20 season, but he signed a short-term extension given the extended season in light of coronavirus. [32] He signed a new one-year contract with the club in August 2020. [33] On 28 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Middlesbrough at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract. [34]
On 5 August 2021, Johnson joined recently-relegated EFL League One club Sheffield Wednesday. [35] [36] He made his Sheffield Wednesday debut a few days later, coming off the bench as a second-half substitute for Andre Green against Charlton Athletic on the opening day of the season. [37] He scored his first goal for Sheffield Wednesday in an EFL Trophy tie against Newcastle United U21s on 31 August 2021. [38] On 21 May 2022, it was confirmed the club had exercised an option to retain him for another season. [39] He played in what was dubbed as the "Miracle of Hillsborough", winning a penalty for the first of a four goal comeback over Peterborough United in the play-off semi-finals. [40] He then played in the play-off final win over Barnsley that secured the club promotion back to the Championship. [41] Johnson was offered a new contract to stay at the club, [42] which was confirmed on 1 July 2023. [43] On 17 May 2024, Wednesday exercised their option to keep Johnson another year. [44] He was released from his contract following the end of the 2024–25 season. [45]
On 13 October 2025, Johnson a short-term contract for recently-promoted League One club Port Vale to reunite with his former Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore. [46] The club had sustained a series of injuries in the wing-back position at the start of the 2025–26 season. [47]
Johnson is of Jamaican descent through his paternal grandfather. [48] As of November 2016 Johnson had two children, a boy and a girl. [49]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Solihull Moors [a] | 2008–09 [50] | Conference North | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 [51] | Conference North | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Kidderminster Harriers | 2011–12 [4] | Conference Premier | 12 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 [4] | Conference Premier | 39 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 [b] | 0 | 44 | 7 | ||
| 2013–14 [52] | Conference Premier | 25 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | ||
| 2014–15 [4] | Conference Premier | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 [c] | 1 | 35 | 10 | ||
| Total | 108 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 120 | 20 | ||
| Hednesford Town (loan) | 2013–14 [4] | Conference North | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 [d] | 0 | 8 | 2 | |
| Motherwell | 2014–15 [53] | Scottish Premiership | 11 | 0 | — | — | 2 [e] | 1 | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 [54] | Scottish Premiership | 38 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 42 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 [55] | Scottish Premiership | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | — | 9 | 4 | ||
| Total | 53 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 64 | 11 | ||
| Oxford United | 2016–17 [55] | League One | 39 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 7 [f] | 3 | 52 | 6 | |
| 2017–18 [56] | League One | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Total | 41 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 55 | 7 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2017–18 [56] | Championship | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| 2018–19 [57] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 [58] | Championship | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 40 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 [59] | Championship | 42 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 43 | 4 | ||
| Total | 97 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 7 | ||
| Middlesbrough U21 | 2017–18 [56] | — | — | — | 1 [f] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Sheffield United (loan) | 2018–19 [57] | Championship | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2021–22 [60] | League One | 39 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 [g] | 1 | 44 | 3 | |
| 2022–23 [61] | League One | 41 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 [h] | 0 | 51 | 3 | |
| 2023–24 [62] | Championship | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25 [63] | Championship | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 44 | 0 | ||
| Total | 150 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 169 | 10 | ||
| Port Vale | 2025–26 [64] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 471 | 42 | 25 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 25 | 6 | 537 | 57 | ||
Oxford United
Sheffield United
Sheffield Wednesday
Not that the Roms – who have recruited young hotshot Marvin Johnson to bolster their attack – will fear anyone.