The 23-year old Jamaican international, who was signed from Tivoli Gardens in 2001, has failed to establish himself as a regular at the Reebok Stadium despite some starring performances at international level and the temporary move to Iain Dowie's side may be the kick start which the young Reggae Boyz star needs to improve his first team chances at Bolton.
Johnson was chased for quite some time by the Latics and Dowie seemed enthusiastic about the signing the midfielder who, if all goes well will remain at Boundary Park till the beginning of March.
" He's an exciting player with tremendous pace, good technical ability and is unpredictable as a lot of what he does is off the cuff" Dowie said
It is the second time a Wanderers youngster has moved to Oldham this season as Congo-born defender Ndiwa Lord-Kangana spent time with the Latics in August and Johnson will follow suit in moving accross Lancashire. Both Yeovil Town and Macclesfield Town tried to sign the player earlier in the season but a mixture of injury and suspension thwarted any potential moves