Walsall Football Club are pleased to announce the return of striker Danny Johnson who has signed a two-year contract at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.
The 30-year-old will officially join on July 1st upon the expiry of his contract with Mansfield Town.
Johnson enjoyed a memorable loan spell with the Saddlers during the first half of the 2022/23 season.
He first found the net in Walsall red within hours of joining, scoring in a friendly away at Solihull Moors.
His competitive debut proved to be a special one as he bagged a hat-trick on the opening day of the Sky Bet League Two campaign in a 4-0 victory over Hartlepool United.
By the time his loan deal expired in January 2023, he had scored an impressive 15 times in just 30 outings in all competitions.
Johnson has been a prolific goal scorer throughout his career. He netted 53 goals in three seasons with Gateshead while he also scored 20 times during the 2020/21 campaign at Leyton Orient.
The forward is looking to continue that kind of form and pick up where he left off last season.
“I’m delighted to be back,” he said.
“Last year when I signed I said my game was scoring goals and I came and did that so the pressure is on me to come and replicate that but I’m a confident lad so hopefully when I come back, I’ll pick up where I left off.
“Mat Sadler made it quite clear he wanted me to come back here and pick up where I’m left off. I worked well with him on the training ground last year so I know what he’s about.
“January was a tough time and the response I got from the fans when I left was fantastic and when I was here it was fantastic as well. Hopefully I can repay that support and give them some good times like I did last year.
“I want to help push the club on, score as many times as I can, help the team out and hopefully we have a positive season.”
Head Coach Mat Sadler is excited to welcome Johnson back into the squad.
“I’m absolutely delighted to get Danny over the line,” Sadler said.
“I want to thank the football club and the board because everyone has worked hard to get this done.
“It’s been a priority for a long period of time to secure Danny’s signature and thankfully, it has all come together.
“We all had the fantastic experience watching him play last season.
“Danny’s hugely motivated to achieve, to score goals – he’s not happy when he scores one goal, he wants to score two.
“He’s desperate to succeed and I’m after players who are hungry to do well and show everything that they’ve got every single day and Danny falls into that category.
“He’s a fantastic guy, someone I really respect and I’m looking forward to working with him again.
“Danny is also going to embark on an exciting phase in his family life so it’s an honour that he wants to share and experience that while being at our football club and I’m delighted we’ll be able to share that with him too.
“We have a number of targets that we are continuing conversations with as potential signings across all lines, as we look to strengthen what we already have in the building.”