It is believed that Johnson figures highly on Southampton’s wanted list and contact has been made with West Ham about a potential deal.
The 23-year-old, who was an unused substitute in the Hammers’ opening two Premier League matches of the season, is out of contract in the summer of 2024.
He has previously rejected offers of a contract extension with the club.
The 23-year-old has spent all of his footballing career with the London club working his way through the academy before stepping up to the first team in 2020
Last season Johnson made 29 appearances for David Moyes’ side across all competitions and was in the starting lineup for 21 of those outings.
The defender also featured in the group stages and quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League for the Hammers but was an unused substitute in the remaining games of their winning campaign.
The Saints are in need to reinforcements after losing Livramento to Newcastle in a deal worth a reported £32million
The Chelsea academy product put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Magpies after a two-year spell at St Mary’s.
The right-back made his debut in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to reigning champions Man City, starting on the bench and making a four minute cameo.
A replacement for James Ward-Prowse in midfield is needed following his departure to West Ham United, whilst a centre-back is on Martin’s agenda with a bid placed for Swansea City’s Nathan Wood.
And despite having both Kyle Walker-Peters and James Bree as options in the position, a right-back now looks to be on the radar of the Saints head coach, with Football Insider reporting that West Ham United’s Ben Johnson is wanted at St Mary’s Stadium.
Johnson is primarily a right-back but has played at both left-back and centre-back for the Hammers in recent times, with 29 appearances made for David Moyes in the 2022-23 season.
Having been on the bench for both Premier League matches so far this season though, Johnson could be on the way out of the London Stadium with less than 12 months remaining on his contract.
Let’s look at TWO knock-on effects at Southampton should Johnson put pen-to-paper on a move to the south coast club.
With Southampton already having two very capable right-back options at the club already in Kyle Walker-Peters and James Bree, Johnson’s potential arrival would surely signal the end for at least one of them.
And with Walker-Peters already being an England international, it would make sense if he were to move on to enhance his career to try and get back into Gareth Southgate’s setup.
The 26-year-old played 31 times in the Premier League for the Saints last season, sometimes even filling in at left-back, and he has been an ever-present in the early stages of the club’s Championship campaign.
He has been linked with a move away already though this summer, with Newcastle United linked at one point before going for his former team-mate Tino Livramento in the end, whilst Fulham, RC Lens and AS Roma have all also been touted as destinations as well by The Sun.
There isn’t much time left to strike a deal, but there’s little doubt that top flight club will be looking at Walker-Peters in the latter stages of the window.
It’s clear that Russell Martin wants his full-backs to bomb up the pitch in his system and in Walker-Peters’ case in the early stages of the season he has moved into midfield at times as well as an inverted full-back.
But in Johnson’s case, whilst he can get forward on the ball and is quite quick, he will offer far more defensive solidary than a more attack-minded player like Walker-Peters or Ryan Manning on the other side.
Johnson is not particularly in the wing-back mould despite his pace and athleticism, and if he were going to play like that he would have to improve his end product when it comes to crosses and passing.
But in matches where Southampton will more-than meet their match on the ball, Johnson will be very useful as a more defensive option at the back, with his versatility potentially coming in handy too.
It was confirmed on Monday that Southampton had won the race to sign the 24-year-old on a loan deal until the end of the season.
The midfielder was wanted by several Championship clubs, but the Saints have won the race, and it may be because the two had already done business when it came to the Ward-Prowse transfer.
Downes joined the Hammers last summer from Swansea City, where he worked under Russell Martin. But his time in London hasn’t been as successful as it was in Wales, with him only making 35 appearances last season.
The midfielder has joined up again with Martin, and the Southampton boss will hope his midfielder can have the same impact on his new team as he did at Swansea.
