Ben Johnson admission simply wrong after West Ham United transfer news
Ben Johnson has claimed Aaron Cresswell is the player he most looks up to in the West Ham squad, with the latter’s professionalism one of the reasons, despite reports he had refused to train in the summer.
Johnson’s suggestion that Cresswell is one player he looks up to will not come as a surprise after his many years of service to the club, but the professionalism claim seems odd after what happened in pre-season.
Reports over the summer had claimed Cresswell was refusing to train with the club [Sean Whetstone, 29 July] amid a possible transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers, which ultimately never came to be [Daily Mail, 19 July].
Speaking on West Ham’s official Iron Cast podcast [19 September], Johnson was asked who in the current squad he most looks up to, and he responded: “I’d say Cress. He’s been a great servant to the club, as everyone knows.
“He’s still doing it as well at the highest level. So professional. He does it properly every day, on and off the pitch, and he’s given me great advice as well over the years.”
Getting on with the job
After the situation surrounding a possible exit in the summer and everything that came along with that, Cresswell ultimately remains a West Ham player and will be getting on with his job as he provides a different option at left-back to current first-choice Emerson.
Cresswell is yet to feature for the Hammers so far this season, having been named as an unused substitute in four of their five Premier League fixtures so far but may be called upon as the fixtures start to get more congested in the winter months.
The fact that some of the less experienced players at the club still look up to Cresswell is at least one positive of his continued stay at the club, with his influence off the pitch clearly impacting the players who look up to him and will hope to have a long and successful Hammers career as he has.
The door remains open for Cresswell to leave the club in January or next summer, with his pre-season antics not reflecting well, but for now, he will need to get on with the task at hand.
In the immediate, this admission is simply wrong.
In other West Ham news, one BBC pundit has backed players who turned down a West Ham move last year.