Sunderland's Adam Johnson enters guilty plea

Footballer Adam Johnson has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and also to one of grooming a child, but has chosen to deny the two other charges of sexual activity with a child. The Sunderland winger, aged 28, has appeared before the court on Wednesday in the first day of his trial. He is accused of having engaged in sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16. He will still have to stand trial for the two charges that he denies and try to convince the jury of his innocence. The actual trial before the jury will begin on Friday. Johnson has been a promising footballer, with 12 England caps to his name. He was arrested in March 2015 after being accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl. He started his professional career with Middlesbrough in 2004 and his performances earned him a transfer to Manchester City in 2010. He made 73 league appearances and scored 11 goals for the Citizens before leaving to join Sunderland in 2012. He had 109 appearances and 18 goals for Sunderland in the Premier League, including 19 appearances and 2 goals during the current season. The club have supported him so far and continued to keep him in the squad. It is unclear whether the guilty plea and the trial would change that.