West Ham United defender Ben Johnson put in a thrilling performance once again today against Manchester United.
Ben Johnson came through the West Ham academy, and his stats today were more befitting of the player we thought he would become.
The 24-year-old made his debut for the Hammers around five years ago when he was still a teenager and at the time, it seemed like we had a proper player on our hands.
Unfortunately for West Ham, David Moyes, the fans and Johnson himself though, he has regressed badly over the past 18 months or so.
His concentration levels are so, so poor and his positional awareness leaves a lot to be desried, but have we been viewing him through the wrong lens?
Is Johnson actually a more attack-minded player – a midfielder perhaps – someone who has been misused over the past few years? Maybe so.
One thing’s for sure, he was at his very best once again today…
Ben Johnson stats for West Ham vs Manchester United
The Hammers youngster was the standout player for us this afternoon up at Old Trafford as far as I’m concerned.
Johnson had 63 touches of the ball, had three shots on goal, made one dribble, had no unsuccessful touches and was only dispossessed once. On the defensive side, he made one tackle, two interceptions and once clearance. The 24-year-old made 36 passes and recorded a really impressive completion rate of 94.4%. He made three long balls as well and hit the target with every single one (Who Scored).
It seemed for all the world that Ben Johnson was absolutely finished at West Ham only a few weeks ago, but now he surely has a future at the London Stadium.
The Hammers academy graduate will be out of contract with the club in the summer, and I fully expect West Ham to sign him down to a new deal soon.
The performances of Ben Johnson over the past few weeks have given him some real bargaining power, and his stats today will give him even more leverage when it comes to contract negotiations.
READ ALSO:
Jacob Steinberg fires off outspoken dig at West Ham and David Moyes
West Ham reporter very close to David Sullivan drops major Lucas Paqueta update
David Moyes the reason for January transfer window failings – opinion
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
