Blow for West Ham as defender’s talks with PL club at ‘advanced stage’

Ben Johnson has reportedly rejected the offer of renewed terms by West Ham and is instead expected to sign for newly promoted Ipswich Town, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.

It was reported earlier in June that the Hammers had offered the 24-year-old an improved five-year deal and, at one stage, it was believed he would accept it and extend his stay at his boyhood club.

But it appears Ipswich Town have swooped in with a better offer and, as Johnson’s current contract is set to expire at the end of June, he is now expected to leave West Ham for pastures new.

According to Sky Sports, talks between Ipswich and Johnson are at an advanced stage, which perhaps suggests that West Ham have decided against matching what the newly-promoted club have offered the defender.

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Ben Johnson needs first team football

It may also be the case that Johnson sees a move away from West Ham as the perfect opportunity to find regular first-team football, which is something he found hard to come by last season with just four premier League starts to his name. At 24, he will feel like he needs to be playing regularly in order to continue improving.

The right-back was forced into playing second fiddle to Vladimir Coufal for much of the season and even found himself playing in midfield towards the end of the campaign, as David Moyes struggled with injuries in a squad painfully short of depth and credible options.

He showed a great deal of promise throughout his time in claret and blue, particularly in the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons, when he played over 60 times over the course of the two years. However, he always struggled usurp Coufal as the first-choice right-back and subsequently failed to make more than 16 starts in a single Premier League season since he broke into the first-team.

Ben Johnson has made 109 appearances in all competitions for the Hammers since making his debut against Manchester City in 2019, scoring two goals and registering two assists.