One West Ham United player could now be set to stay at the London Stadium this summer and beyond after all.
The summer transfer window will be a vitally important one for new West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui.
Lopetegui has around £90 million to spend, not including player sales, and he needs to bring in around six or seven new faces at the very least this summer.
The Spaniard needs to strengthen in pretty much every single area of the pitch at the London Stadium, after David Moyes left an ageing and unbalanced squad behind.
The Hammers boss is said to be prioritising the additions of a top-class new centre-back and a proven goalscorer this summer.
It could be argued that two new full-backs are required as well, with more competition and cover required for Emerson Palmieri and Vladimir Coufal.
However, one Hammers star has allegedly just changed his mind about where he’ll be playing next season, and that could well change Lopetegui’s summer plan…
Big West Ham summer twist ahead
So one player who’s been heavily linked with leaving the club could now stay at the London Stadium it seems.
According to BBC Sport, full-back Ben Johnson could now stay at West Ham in what would be a huge twist.
It seemed for all the world that he’d be off this summer, but that may now not be the case.
It was only last month when it was claimed that Johnson was set to sign for our London rivals Crystal Palace on a free transfer.
With 109 senior appearances for the Hammers to his name (Transfermarkt), Johnson has gone on to achieve what most young players coming through the academy dream of.
However, the 24-year-old has regressed badly since the start of the 2022/23 season.
He has been awful for West Ham over the past two years or so, let’s be honest here.
Sure, he’s made a few impressive substitute appearances over the past couple of months, but the cold hard truth of the matter is that he’s nowhere near good enough to be playing Premier League football.
His better performances recently have actually come in an auxiliary midfield role, and there obviously isn’t a place for him there in the long-term.
The 24-year-old’s shocking concentration levels and his poor positional awareness means that he’s a Championship player at best in my view.
I think a summer move to Rangers or Leeds would suit West Ham defender Ben Johnson down to the ground, and he would probably succeed at either club.
If he is to stay at the London Stadium though, I really hope we don’t tie him down to a hugely expensive long-term deal.
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