Ben Johnson, who is out of contract, has the option to leave West Ham for free this summer. Teams interested in the defender include Aston Villa, Everton, Wolves, and Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
When compared to Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, and Mohammed Kudus, the academy graduate may not be the most respected player in the West Ham lineup. However, Ben Johnson, 24, is becoming more and more in demand before the summer transfer window due to his flexibility, homegrown status, and availability on a free transfer starting in July.
HITC is aware that Aston Villa, Everton, and Wolverhampton Wanderers are considering signing Johnson, who has declined multiple opportunities to remain at the London Stadium.
Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham’s fierce rivals, are also interested. Additionally, the idea of losing a player who entered the team’s academy in 2007 and moving across the divide is probably going to cause a great deal of resentment among the blue-and-white supporters.
Since Scott Parker was signed 13 years ago, Spurs have not added a single player from West Ham.
Spurs planning a move on West Ham to acquire Ben Johnson
HITC has been informed by sources that Johnson’s representation have also been contacted by clubs in Italy, France, and Germany. Leeds United may make a move for the former England Under-21 international after looking at him in January as well. Connor Roberts, who only joined Leeds on loan from Burnley three months ago, is not sure what his future holds at Elland Road.
Johnson hasn’t exactly been a fixture in the West Ham starting lineup. However, many managers will see the value in bringing a player of his calibre to their team because he can play on the left or right, as a full-back, or in a more central position.
Spurs planning a move on West Ham to acquire Ben Johnson
HITC has been informed by sources that Johnson’s representation have also been contacted by clubs in Italy, France, and Germany. Leeds United may make a move for the former England Under-21 international after looking at him in January as well. Connor Roberts, who only joined Leeds on loan from Burnley three months ago, is not sure what his future holds at Elland Road.
Defender can be transferred for free.
Unsurprisingly, Everton, which is having financial difficulties, is interested in a free-loading Premier League veteran. In the meantime, Wolves have also recently struggled with FFP; Gary O’Neil revealed the team’s difficulties in trying to sign a new center-forward in January.
O’Neill stated, “Unfortunately, the club were not in a position to be able to help us with that due to financial reasons,” seemingly pointing at Wolves’ inability to sign Armando Broja, a Chelsea loanee at Fulham.
“We had a Premier League number nine ready to assist us, but we were prevented from doing so by a relatively small sum of money.”
HITC has learned that Tottenham has been considering left-backs like Ferdi Kadioglu of Fenerbahce as well as right-backs like Michael Kayode of Fiorentina. That way, the dexterous, bipedal Johnson could accomplish two goals at once.
