Ben Johnson rejects new six-year West Ham deal – report
Ben Johnson has rejected a new six-year contract with West Ham, forcing the club to trigger a two-year extension option according to The Athletic.
The young defender made his first start since New Years Day on Sunday in the 1-0 win over Wolves, turning in an impressive performance for his seventh clean sheet of the season.
But according to The Athletic, negotiations over a new long-term contract have been stopped for the time being after he turned down a six-year deal as he looks to establish himself as the first-choice right-back.
According to Roshane Thomas, the club are likely to return to the table for talks over a long-term renewal again at some point next year.
His current contract now ends in 2024 after their option was taken up so there is no rush to secure him on fresh terms. However they are keen to tie him down, and the player is happy at the London Stadium.
Business as usual
While the news of Johnson rejecting the new contract won’t be ideal for him or the club to have leaked out, it’s pretty standard for terms not to immediately be agreed.
Both parties will have known about the extension option in the deal so there would have been no panic, and all it does is buy time for him to continue to develop and West Ham to plan a new deal.
If Johnson can continue to develop and assert himself as first-choice full-back over the next year or so then an improved contract guarantees itself. If he’s poor, then the Hammers may have saved themselves.
Either way, nothing should be really chance in the short-term. David Moyes has previously described Johnson as ‘really important‘ and the player continues to be highly-rated.
Should his performance levels continue as they are then he should be able to really stake a claim for a first-choice place in the team and at that point everything else becomes a formality.
In other West Ham news, ESPN shares Declan Rice update on West Ham future as one club looks elsewhere