Sam Johnson

Contract mutually terminated on October 31, 2020.

HOW ACQUIRED: Transferred from Valerenga and signed to a Designated Player contract on Feb. 4, 2019.

In his first season with the club, Johnson started in 15 of his 26 games played, including two playoff appearances. Johnson was the second leading scorer on the team with nine goals in 1,328 minutes played.

• RSL.com: Johnson's profile

INTERNATIONAL: Johnson scored two goals for the Liberian national team in 14 appearances since making his full international debut in 2015.

OUTSIDE MLS: Johnson, 26, scored 11 goals in 21 matches last season for Valerenga to lead the team in scoring and rank sixth in the league during the Eliteserien season. Johnson started his playing career in his native Liberia before making a move to Assyriska IF in Sweden at 18 years old in 2011. He climbed the European ranks until landing with Sweden’s IK Frej in 2013, where he scored 17 goals in 50 matches over two seasons, leading the team with 12 goals to rank sixth in the Norra division, helping the second division club earn promotion in 2014. The following season, he moved to Djurgardens in Sweden’s top division, finishing second on the team with 10 goals in his first season. Even after a mid-season transfer to Wuhan Zall in China, he was still second on the team with six goals in 2016. In two seasons in China, he scored 11 goals in 26 matches before returning to Europe with Valerenga last year. In total, he has 66 goals in 162 league matches since 2011 and 69 goals in 180 appearances across all competitions.