West Ham United have now held talks with the agent of Ben Johnson over a contract extension to fend off transfer interest from Premier League and Championship clubs.
That is according to Sky Sports, which reports that a number of teams have now shown an interest in signing Johnson. The 23-year-old has entered the last year of his current contract with West Ham. But the Irons refuse to rule out negotiating fresh terms with the defender.
Initial talks are even also now underway between London Stadium chiefs and their academy graduate’s representative. The Hammers are exploring the conditions Johnson wants to stay in east London. He has been a part of the West Ham set-up since joining at the age of seven.
West Ham open initial talks over a new contract for Johnson
Johnson has played regularly in claret-and-blue at every age level and has so far registered 87 first-team appearances. He was also an important part of the England team that won the U21 European Championships this summer. The full-back did not play in the final with Spain.
West Ham are now open to extending Johnson’s time with the club with a new contract. But they face negotiating new terms against a backdrop of significant interest from both Premier League and Championship clubs. They may eye a cut-price transfer given his expiring deal.
Moyes might have to convince Johnson to reject a transfer
Johnson will surely want assurances about his game time to reject a transfer and sign a new contract with West Ham. Boss David Moyes is yet to field the full-back so far this season. He only named the Hammers product on their bench at AFC Bournemouth and against Chelsea.
Moyes further only fielded him for 1,925 minutes through 29 games in all competitions last season. Johnson, who Stuart Pearce has called ‘wonderful’, started in 21 of his appearances. He was an unused substitute in a further 15 games despite his versatility over the backline.
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