| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 December 2003 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Derby County | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Motherwell | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2023 | Motherwell | 19 | (3) |
| 2021–2022 | → Queen of the South (loan) | 25 | (2) |
| 2022 | → Cove Rangers (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Sturm Graz | 47 | (2) |
| 2023 | Sturm Graz II | 7 | (0) |
| 2025– | Derby County | 2 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Scotland U16 [2] | 1 | (1) |
| 2022 | Scotland U19 [3] | 2 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Scotland U21 | 10 | (1) |
| 2025– | Scotland | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:07, 13 September 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 07:17, 9 September 2025 (UTC) | |||
Max Johnston (born 26 December 2003) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for EFL Championship club Derby County and the Scotland national team.
Johnston started his career at the Motherwell academy, making his senior debut in 2021, where he also had loan spells at Queen of the South and Cove Rangers. In 2023, Johnston moved to Austria to sign with Sturm Graz where he would stay for two years, before moving to England to sign with Derby County.
Johnston signed for Motherwell at 12 years old, progressing through the club's academy system, [4] then joining up with the first-team squad ahead of the 2020–21 season. [1] Johnston debuted for the Steelmen on 13 February 2021, as a substitute in the Lanarkshire derby versus Hamilton Academical. [5] [6]
On 1 September 2021, Johnston signed for Queen of the South on a season long loan deal, with the former Doonhamers manager being his father Allan. [7] He was then loaned to Cove Rangers in September 2022. [8] After making 10 appearances with Cove, Johnston was recalled on 1 January 2023. [9] He then became a regular in the Motherwell first team, and won the SFWA Young Player of the Year award for 2022–23. [10]
On 25 July 2023, Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz announced the signing of Johnston on a contract until the summer of 2027. [11]
Johnston made 65 appearances for Sturm Graz, scoring two goals and whilst at the club he won the Austrian Bundesliga in 2024 and 2025 and the Austrian Cup in 2024. [12]
On 27 August 2025, Johnston signed with EFL Championship club Derby County on a four-year contract after Derby agreed an undisclosed fee with Strum Graz for Johnston's services. [13] On 30 August 2025, Johnston made his debut for Derby in a 2–2 league draw at Ipswich Town. [14]
Johnston represented Scotland at under-16 level, scoring on his debut versus Australia in 2019. On 17 March 2022, Johnston was called up late to the Scotland under-19 squad. [15]
He was added to the full Scotland squad for the first time in October 2023, following withdrawals by Aaron Hickey and Andrew Robertson. [16] He made his senior debut on 20 March 2025 as a late substitute for Billy Gilmour in a UEFA Nations League victory over Greece. [17]
Johnston's father is former Scotland international Allan; his uncle Sammy was also a footballer. [4]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Motherwell | 2020–21 [19] | Scottish Premiership | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 [20] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 [21] | Scottish Premiership | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 19 | 3 | ||
| Total | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 21 | 3 | |||
| Queen of the South (loan) | 2021–22 | Scottish Championship | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 [c] | 1 | 31 | 3 | |
| Cove Rangers (loan) | 2022–23 | Scottish Championship | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 | ||
| Sturm Graz | 2023–24 | Austrian Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 7 [d] | 0 | – | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Austrian Bundesliga | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 5 [e] | 0 | – | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2025–26 | Austrian Bundesliga | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 [f] | 0 | – | 5 | 1 | |||
| Total | 47 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | – | 65 | 2 | |||
| Sturm Graz II | 2023–24 | 2. Liga | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Derby County | 2025–26 [22] | EFL Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 111 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 137 | 8 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Sturm Graz
Individual