Birmingham City, Luton Town and Oxford United make transfer enquiry for former Motherwell star


Birmingham City are reportedly among three English clubs that have made an enquiry for Max Johnston.
According to Sky Sports, Blues along with Championship duo Luton Town and Oxford United have enquired Sturm Graz about possibly taking Johnston on loan. AGF, who had Bailey Peacock-Farrell on their books last season, are also believed to have shown an interest.
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Hide AdThe 20-year-old came through the academy of Motherwell, but moved to Austria last summer. In his first season out of Scotland, he made 29 appearances, and won the Austrian Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup. Johnston registered one assist, and also featured seven times for their development team.
He is under contract with Sturm Graz until the summer of 2027, and so a loan deal seems the most likely outcome. Out of the 29 games that he played, he started just five of them, and so a temporary spell away could help his prospects of making a full breakthrough at the Liebenauer Stadium.
Prior to joining Sturm Graz, he was at Motherwell and made 22 appearances for the Well, providing three goals and three assists. He also had loan spells at Queen of the South and Cove Rangers, making a combined 43 appearances with six assists and two goals.
He is predominantly a right-back, and currently Birmingham have Ethan Laird to fill in that position. Dion Sanderson is also capable of playing there but he has been playing more as a centre-back since his arrival.
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Hide AdJohnston has been capped five times for the Scotland under-21 team, and was drafted in to the senior team in October. Earlier this year, he spoke of why he made the decision to move to Austria, and reflected on his time out there so far.
Speaking about his experiences in Austria, he said: "I've really enjoyed coming over to Austria, it's been a different challenge.
"To do the double in my first season is amazing.
"I'd seen Scottish players move abroad - Lewis Ferguson, Aaron Hickey. They had some real success and that's what encouraged me to take the step."
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