West Ham United: David Moyes cannot sanction Ben Johnson exit after Leeds United development this week
James Murray is a lifelong West Ham fan and a current season ticket holder in the Billy Bonds Stand. He’s seen some incredible talents – as well as several forgettable names – don the famous claret and blue shirt since his first game 25 years ago. He’s now putting his passion for West Ham into words with a regular fan view for West Ham Zone…
Ben Johnson can’t be allowed to leave West Ham just yet.
The Athletic reported on its website on Thursday (11 January) that Leeds United are interested in singing the 23-year-old on loan in the January transfer window.
The Championship club are on the lookout for a new right-back after defender Luke Ayling joined Middlesbrough on loan until the end of the season.
It’s been clear for quite a few months that Johnson probably doesn’t have much of a future at the London Stadium after Sean Whetstone, the editor of 6foot2, tweeted on 19 September that he would be allowed to leave on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season.
The defender has been at the club since he was seven years old before going on to progress through the renowned academy and making his way into the senior side.
The right-back made his Premier League debut in a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in February 2019 and has since competed for a place in the West Ham backline.
There were high hopes that he would become a star player for the club for years to come, but his downfall started when his performance levels dipped last year.
He’s been very much on the fringes this season, with first-choice right-back Vladimir Coufal playing almost every minute in the Premier League, leaving Johnson to battle it out with Thilo Kehrer for minutes in the cup competitions.
After the German international left on loan earlier last week, the door to more opportunities in the first team has opened up a little for the defender.
Having warmed the bench for most of the season, the Englishman has played in four of the past five games, with David Moyes appearing to be open to keeping him around for the time being.
But then the news about Leeds’ interest came about on Thursday. There just simply doesn’t seem to be any upside in us allowing Johnson to go out on loan.
For starters, it would leave us extremely short of defensive cover as he can fill in anywhere across the backline, while it is also means he would just leave on a free at the end of the season.
I really can’t see why we would sanction a move at this moment in time, but if some cash was to be put on the table, then obviously that would be worth considering.
If that doesn’t happen, though, and an adequate replacement can’t be sought this month, then it’s best we keep him around for the time being because he probably will have a role to play.
We’re fighting on three fronts this season and, as our previous endeavours in Europe have shown, depth is required if we want to ensure this is another successful campaign at the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, a journalist has shared the likelihood of two player exits at the London Stadium in January.