Tuesday 28 August 2018 17:58, UK
Former FC Dallas midfielder Bobby Warshaw has compared the importance of Sporting Kansas City's Johnny Russell to Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane at Manchester City.
The former Derby winger moved stateside in January from the Championship and has helped Kansas City move to second in the Western Conference.
Russell has contributed this season with eight goals and five assists and Warshaw thinks he will play a big role in the latter part of the season as Kansas aim to win the Western Conference and ultimately, the MLS Cup.
"Johnny Russell is huge to what Kansas City do, they have a very specific style and they pass the ball more than anyone else in the MLS," Warshaw said.
"They pass and move and have a lot of possession, it's very Pep Guardiola like but ultimately like Pep teams, you need a winger like Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling to break teams down and that's what Johnny Russell offers."
Sporting Kansas City have won the MLS Cup twice previously (2000, 2013), and Warshaw believes Russell can lead them to a third title.
"He's willing to run and beat people one on one, and Sporting Kansas City are just a great team to watch and they're wonderfully tactical," Warshaw said.
"But they also need a player to create something out of nothing and that's Johnny Russell for them."
Russell will hope to feature for Scotland in their upcoming internationals, live on Sky Sports, as they face Belgium in a friendly on September 7 and then in the UEFA Nations League on September 10 against Albania.
