By West Ham Zone speaking to Frank McAvennie

8th May, 2023 | 4:10pm

Pundit expects Ben Johnson to be replaced at West Ham United after David Moyes snub v Manchester United

We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…

Frank McAvennie expects Ben Johnson to be replaced at West Ham this summer after he was snubbed by David Moyes against Manchester United.

The Hammers were without first-choice right-back Vladimir Coufal for the game after he picked up a hamstring injury, but Johnson was still left on the bench for the 1-0 win at the London Stadium on Sunday (7 May).

Instead Thilo Kehrer was moved from centre-back to right-back to cover and after McAvennie backed Johnson to get the nod initially, he now believes that Moyes doesn’t trust Johnson so doesn’t expect him to get a new contract and will likely move on.

“They must have someone else lined up at right-back then, because I just though he’d come in for Coufal,” he told West Ham Zone.

“They must have somebody else or they wouldn’t have let him go. They don’t trust him, they don’t think he deserves a new contract, but they’re going to need him for the last four or five games.

“That’s a predicament I wouldn’t want to be in. For the manager if he doesn’t think you’re good enough but you’ve got to play him. There must be someone else at right-back that we’ve not heard about.“

Johnson’s current West Ham deal is set to expire in 2024 although it has been reported that is unlikely to be renewed at this point.

So far this season he has made 21 appearances in all competitions, but only eight starts in the Premier League for a total of 772 minutes in the top flight.