Adam Johnson began life as a Sunderland fan, had a brief spell with Newcastle United before he inherited Stewart Downing’s mantle as Middlesbrough’s wing wizard. Andy Richardson looks at the career of the player who has attracted interest from Real Madrid and Manchester United.

WINGERS enjoy a special relationship with football supporters. It’s not just their close proximity to the stands that makes the great exponents of wing play something treasured by anyone who truly loves the sport.

As football becomes increasingly a numbers game, where managers hail players for the distance they have run, wide men remain a rare source of genuine excitement, high-wire performers whose act is so thrilling because it’s forever in danger of toppling over.

For a team to produce one top-class winger in a generation is almost unheard of nowadays. That makes Adam Johnson a phenomenon.

By rights, the departure of Stewart Downing should have left Boro’s flank patrolled by a midfield workhorse who’d rather be playing in the centre of the pitch. That is what happens at most clubs. For the Academy to produce two potentially great wingers in succession seems unfair.

But the end of Downing’s career on Teesside should warn supporters at the Riverside that they must enjoy Johnson while they can.

The scarcity of left-sided players possessing flair will ensure that, while reports linking the lad from Easington with Manchester United and Real Madrid may appear fanciful, they should not be dismissed entirely.

Relegation from the Premier League was disastrous for Boro but for Johnson it has given him a lease of life.

Emerging from Downing’s shadow, Johnson this season is finally living up to his billing as a potential England international.

Gareth Southgate, however, remains determined to instill in the 22-year-old an appreciation that his role is not merely one of entertainer-in-chief.

“At Reading he did a very good job for the team,’’ he said. “He was frustrated when he came off because he hadn’t caught the eye as much as he had in other games.

“But in fact it was a really good, disciplined role for the team. He has to realise that is just as important as being the hero.”

When asked this week to give a progress report on Boro’s top scorer this season, Southgate confirmed: “He is doing OK.”

It was typical understatement from Southgate, who is wary of attracting unwanted interest.

Johnson’s family and team-mates have ensured that he hasn’t become carried away by such attention.

“It was Andrew Taylor, actually,’’ recalled Johnson.

“I remember it well. I was in the car and he rang me and said it is all over Sky that Real Madrid want you.

“I said ‘pull the other one,’ but he said ‘no, seriously, it is all over Sky’, and he asked if I was going!

“I said ‘Nah, I honestly don’t know anything about it’. That was the first I had heard of it, to be honest, and then I arrived at the training ground and was getting all sorts of stick.

“They were calling me El this and all the Real Madrid names. And they were all saying they wanted to move there with me and do my odd jobs.

“It was just a bit of friendly banter to be honest.

I just got my head down. But I have to admit it was very flattering. Just to have your name mentioned in the same breath as a team like that is a massive honour. Being linked with clubs like that is what you dream about.”

What Johnson dreamed about as a youngster was pulling on the red and white stripes of Sunderland before he was invited to train with Newcastle and then spotted by Middlesbough scout Peter Kirkley.

“His skill stood out immediately,” recalled Kirkley. “He was what I call a proper left winger. He went down the wing, put over good crosses and could also score goals.”

Kirkley recommended the skinny kid to Boro’s centre of excellence before the Academy was established, which was where David Parnaby and Ron Bone began to nurture Johnson’s precocious talent.

He became part of a golden generation for the Teessiders who won the FA Youth Cup. A call-up to England Under-19s was followed by Under-21 honours.

A spell at today’s opponents, Watford, proved a vital staging post in his career.

“It is a tough league playing three games a week but I really enjoyed it there,’’ he said.

“(Aidy) Boothroyd (then manager) was fantastic to me and the fans sang my name in every game. That did wonders for my confidence and it was frustrating to come back.”

Johnson’s Premier League debut came in a 2-1 home win over Arsenal, achieved because Downing was sidelined through injury. His role as Downing’s understudy became a feature of recent seasons.

But Downing’s transfer to Aston Villa has seen Johnson become Boro’s most potent attacking threat.

“I suppose in one way I needed him to move away to play regular football,’’ he admitted.

“The longer it went on and not playing I was starting to worry a bit and I was getting frustrated because I felt I was ready to play then. But having an England international in front of you, is not the easiest thing because Stewy was the first name written on that team sheet, which was tough for me.

“Having said that, although at the time it was different, being asked to play on the right then has benefited me now.

“When I switch over with Mark Yeates or whoever, I think sometimes I feel more natural on the right, I prefer it if I am honest.

“Maybe when I play on the left, it becomes a lot more predictable because I want to go on my left foot, whereas when you come inside and out on the right, it becomes harder for teams to play against you.’’ To avoid being dragged into the North-East football rivalries many players will claim to have a fondness for all clubs in the region.

But after being taken to his first game at Roker Park and training with Newcastle when he was a ten-year-old, Johnson justifiably feels an affinity for each of the North-East’s big three.

“Although all my family supported Sunderland and the first game I saw was at Roker Park, I did not go every week to support Sunderland,” said Johnson.

“Once I signed for Boro, when I was 11 or 12, all that went.

“I just loved North-East football and followed all the teams.

“Coming from Easington, supporting Sunderland and playing for Middlesbrough, I wanted all the North-East teams to do well.

“There was not really a Sunderland player who was my idol.

“This is going to sound funny, I was at Newcastle when I was ten until I was 12 and it was David Ginola at the time who I just loved, and then there was always (Ryan) Giggs, even though I never supported Man United.

“He was the one I always looked out for more than anyone and he still is probably the best player in the Premier League.”

Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Sunderland have been linked with a move for Johnson, but the player is more focused on finally being regarded as the main man on Boro’s wing.

“I know there is speculation about me because it is the last year of my contract, but that does not mean an awful lot,’’ he admitted.

“I think that as long as I am playing well, everything will take care of itself. I am playing regularly now and enjoying it.’’