Johnson keen for City return

Sunderland winger Adam Johnson is looking forward to returning to Manchester City for the first time since his move away from the club.

Johnson ended his two-and-a-half-year stay at the Etihad Stadium when Sunderland completed a 10 million-pound deal for his services in the recent transfer window.

And the England international is relishing the opportunity to go up against his former employers so soon after leaving.

“It was a good win against Wigan and obviously City is a tough place to go and it’ll be nice to be involved in that,” he told the Evening Chronicle.

“I’ve never been back to an old club in my career. I had great times there, winning leagues and FA Cups. I’ll always see it as a big part of my career.

“I’m looking forward to going back and seeing a lot of old friends there.”

The Middlesbrough academy product went on to praise team-mate Steven Fletcher, who joined Sunderland on the same day Johnson did, and has scored five goals in his first four appearances.

“Fletcher’s on fire at the moment. Whenever he gets in front of goal, you always think he’s going to score,” Johnson said.

“That’s what he was brought here to do and he’s doing that. He’s having one of those great spells where you just know he’s going to score.

“He’s a natural scorer and that’s what he’s doing.”