Ben Johnson must force West Ham United January exit despite helping create history in last 24 hours
West Ham United certainly need a big squad if they are to successfully fight on all fronts under David Moyes this season.
But even with the busy fixture list given their domestic and European commitments, there are still players being overlooked by the manager.
And one such player is defender Ben Johnson, with the 23-year-old making just two senior Hammers appearances all season.
Despite his versatility, with Johnson able to play centrally and in full-back positions, he has been left out in the cold by Moyes.
The defender featured for 79 minutes against Backa Topola in the Europa League on Thursday (30 November), with his only other Hammers game this season coming in the League Cup win over Lincoln City in September.
He has instead been demoted to the reserve setup more often than not, with Johnson featuring in the likes of the EFL Trophy and the Premier League 2.
And it is in the former where his most recent appearance has come, with the defender helping West Ham Under-21s reach the last 16 of the competition for the very first time after their 4-0 win against Colchester United on Tuesday (5 December).
Despite the achievement, it is not where the player will want to be at this stage of his career, meaning he must do his utmost to force through an exit from the London Stadium in the upcoming January transfer window.
With the likes of Vladimir Coufal, Thilo Kehrer, Emerson and Aaron Cresswell ahead of him in the pecking order at full-back, the frustrating situation for Johnson won’t change anytime soon.
In other West Ham news, a Sky Sports pundit was stunned by what one Hammers ace did in the first half of the recent Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.