Johnny Russell given green light to join Sporting Kansas City

Johnny Russell is to bring his four-and-a-half-year Derby County career to an end by joining Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City.

The 27-year-old has been given permission by the Rams to finalise a switch to SKC ahead of the start of the new MLS season in March.

Russell was offered a new contract at Pride Park but turned it down, leaving him with less than six months to run on his existing terms.

Derby confirmed in a club statement on Wednesday night that the Scotland international is to leave for a new chapter Stateside, bowing out with 203 appearances under his belt.

Twenty-five of those outings have come during the 2017-18 season, with Derby currently occupying an automatic-promotion spot in the Championship.