Ben Johnson demands £60k p/w to sign new West Ham United contract as club stance emerges
Ben Johnson is demanding a new £60,000 per-week contract to re-sign with West Ham United, but the club are not willing to pay that according to Claret & Hugh.
Writing on their website (28 December), the news outlet report that the defender is pricing himself out of a new contract at the London Stadium with the Hammers refusing to pay him so much while he remains on the fringes of the first-team.
An exit now looks on the cards with Everton showing an interest in the player, and January representing a final chance to cash in before his current deal expires in the summer of 2024.
“Defender Ben Johnson is refusing to sign a new deal with the Hammers,” they wrote.
“There had been a feeling that with there being no serious back up to Emerson at left back, the academy produced player may have had a chance of remaining at the club.
“But Claret and Hugh has learned this afternoon that it is not going to happen based on the demands the player and his representatives want in personal terms.
“We have been told that they are looking for £60k a week which the club are simply not willing to pay to a player who remains on the fringes of the first team at best.
“Everton are believed to be maintaining an interest in the defender who celebrates his 24th birthday next month.”
Poor
Johnson is an academy graduate and when he first broke into the first-team it seemed like he was going to be the next one off the conveyor belt to shine for the side.
But he’s never really been able to establish himself as a first-choice option at either right-back or left-back, with Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and now Emerson Palmieri always firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.
The club have been in talks to renew his deal for several years now and seemingly have got nowhere near getting a deal agreed with him.
We now run the risk of losing him for absolutely nothing as he will be able to talk to foreign clubs from next week when the transfer window opens, or move for nothing in six months time.
So long as the club replace him then an exit won’t be the worst thing in the world, especially since he’s never been first-choice anyway, but it’s poor on his part to demand so much rather than be realistic about his role.
In other West Ham news, Thilo Kehrer and Pablo Fornals want to leave with David Moyes open to exits.