According to The Athletic, Ben Johnson has rejected a six-year contract at West Ham, with Liverpool and Tottenham monitoring the situation.
What’s the story?
Well, it seems as if the 22-year-old is currently unwilling to commit the next six years of his career to the Hammers, as Jürgen Klopp and Antonio Conte circle.
It was the Evening Standard who revealed that the Reds are keen, whereas Tottenham’s interest was also mentioned in the report.
The Athletic believe West Ham responded to Johnson’s decision by triggering a two-year extension clause in his contract, which was set to expire in May.
West Ham did not need the youngster’s approval to do that, so in some ways, it merely papers over the cracks following his contract refusal.
The Athletic believe negotiations are likely to start again in January 2023, when the full-back has roughly a year-and-a-half remaining on his deal.
Liverpool or Tottenham can tempt Ben Johnson
The Athletic believe Johnson is happy at the London Stadium and focused on cementing his place in the starting XI, despite refusing a new contract.
However, he clearly has some doubts about his long-term future at West Ham, or else he would’ve signed the long-term deal.
With talks set to resume in January 2023, Liverpool and Tottenham have a good opportunity to tempt the London-born defender before West Ham have another go at tying him down.
Spurs are currently struggling, so we’re not sure they’re in the ideal position to convince Johnson to make such a controversial move across London to a rival.
However, Liverpool are flying under Klopp this season, and the German has a fine track record of developing young talent.
Keep an eye on this saga, as we wouldn’t be surprised to see Johnson at Anfield in the near future.
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