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West Ham defender Ben Johnson wanted by Newcastle - report
West Ham defender Ben Johnson has attracted the interest of Newcastle but remains in talks with the club about a new contract, according to ExWHUEmployee.
The young defender has come through the famed academy at the London Stadium and established himself as a regular in the first-team under David Moyes now.
His good form has seen the club open talks over a new contract after triggering a clause in his contract to extend his deal beyond this summer, but now Newcastle are interested in bringing him in this summer.
According to Ex on his most recent podcast [March 30], the club have resumed talks over a new five-year deal with the 22-year-old.
However Newcastle and Arsenal are said to be keen to compete with the Hammers to get him to sign on, although no potential fee has been mentioned.
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West Ham have got an ageing squad, so keeping hold of their young talents that are already in the first-team picture is something they should be prioritising.
Johnson has shown that he is more than capable of stepping in as an understudy to first choice full-backs Vladimir Coufal and Aaron Cresswell this season.
The next logical step, with both men in their thirties next season, will be to gradually elevate Johnson into a first-choice role but they need to ensure that they tie him down to a new deal before they begin that process.
Newcastle would provide a great opportunity for him to potentially compete for a regular place at full-back considering Kieran Trippier is already 31, but he would need to battle with two established first-teamers too.
That said Moyes is very keen on Johnson and I’d be very surprised if he was happy to see him leave, while Johnson has admitted several times that he loves the club, so it seems inevitable a new deal gets agreed.
In other West Ham news, View: Moyes makes big call on star, two changes – West Ham predicted XI v Everton
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