Jonny Russell
Northern Irish footballer (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jonathan Russell (born 19 September 2004) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Crawley Town, and the Northern Ireland national under-21 team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Russell | ||
| Date of birth | 19 September 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Larne, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Crawley Town | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2023 | Glentoran | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2026 | Glentoran | 59 | (1) |
| 2023 | → Dundela (loan) | ||
| 2026– | Crawley Town | 4 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024– | Northern Ireland U21 | 7 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:21, 28 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:15, 3 January 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Glentoran
Russell was born in Larne on 19 September 2004 as the son of former Glentoran footballer Jeff Russell.[1][2] He progressed through the youth ranks at Glentoran, having joined the club's youth set-up aged 10.[3][2]
He spent the second half of the 2022–23 season on loan at Dundela,[3][4] having made his first-team debut for Glentoran in the Northern Ireland Football League Cup earlier that season.[2]
He signed his first professional contract with Glentoran in November 2023, valid until 2026, after five NIFL Premiership appearances in the early stages of the 2023–24 season,[2] leaving his apprenticeship with Northern Ireland Electricity in the process.[4] The 2023–24 season was a "breakthrough campaign" for Russell, as he made 26 Premiership appearances in total for Glentoran,[4] and won the club's Player of the Year award at the end of the season.[5] He was the youngest winner of the award in the club's history.[6]
He played less regularly in the first half of the 2024–25 season due to "injury and illness and the form of Danny Amos at left-back", though he did also play at right-back during this period.[7] He ended the 2024–25 season having made 20 Premiership appearances, and made 13 league appearances in the first half of the 2025–26 season.[8]
Crawley Town
On 3 January 2026, Russell signed for EFL League Two club Crawley Town for an undisclosed fee, on a contract of undisclosed length.[9] It had been reported three days prior by Belfast Telegraph that the fee was to be £100,000.[10]