Crystal Palace close to signing West Ham United defender Ben Johnson on free transfer
West Ham United defender Ben Johnson is close to agreeing a free transfer to Crystal Palace this summer, according to The Palace Way.
Writing on their website (22 March), the news outlet report that the Eagles are in “pole position” to sign the full-back in the summer when his contract at the London Stadium expires.
The report also states that the 24-year-old was close to a move to Selhurst Park in the January transfer window, although it never materialised.
“The Eagles are also in pole position to sign West Ham’s Ben Johnson when his contract expires in the summer,” they wrote.
“The South London club was close to securing the Englishman’s services in the January transfer window.”
West Ham exit has been coming for Ben Johnson
Johnson has been struggling for regular game time at West Ham for a number of seasons now, largely because his contract situation has been up in the air.
The player has wanted big wages for several years but the Hammers haven’t seen the value in offering it to him, but saw his quality was enough to be part of the squad and so triggered the two-year option in his contract.
But talks haven’t progressed in this period and it now looks almost inevitable that he will leave the club when his deal expires on a free transfer.
It will be a big blow for the Hammers because Johnson has been able to play in both full-back positions, as a centre-back, and even more recently as a central midfielder and a winger.
His versatility would be a big loss to the squad and it would be hard to replace him with just one signing, but he clearly isn’t the man to be a regular starter so this seems like the best option for everyone involved.
In other West Ham news, the club have compiled a shortlist as they expect a big-money exit this summer.
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