The 28-year-old winger denies three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of grooming.
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The offences include kissing and touching the girl, the court heard.
He is now due to stand trial on the remaining two counts of sexual activity with a child.
Johnson had initially denied all four charges against him, but at the last minute he changed his plea to guilty on two of the counts.
Johnson from Castle Eden, County Durham, had his case moved from Durham previous year and the trial is expected to last around 10 days.
The incidents of sexual activity are said to have taken place in January 2015, while the offence of meeting a child after sexual grooming was said to have happened between December 2014 and February 2015.
Johnson appeared in the dock at Bradford Crown Court in northern England wearing a black suit and white tie.
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Johnson began his career at Middlesbrough and then played for Manchester City (2010-12) before joining Sunderland for £10 million.
