Everton: Sky Sports pundit in ‘crazy’ transfer reaction to pursuit of West Ham United defender amid Seamus Coleman injury news
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
It is “crazy” to be trying to look at Everton transfer business when the club is still staring down relegation according to Kevin Campbell, as the Toffees were linked to West Ham’s Ben Johnson.
Hammers site Claret & Hugh reported on 20 April that the club are willing to listen to offers from the Toffees after deciding not to offer the 23-year-old full-back a new deal, as a deadline day deal proved impossible after reporting from the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel (31 January).
With Seamus Coleman 34 and now ruled out with another injury after being stretchered off against Leicester on Monday (1 May) there may be room for a new full-back soon, and Sky Sports pundit Campbell admits the Irons man could start at Goodison Park.
He exclusively told Goodison News: “I haven’t seen a lot of Ben Johnson. I know he does play certain games for West Ham.
“And he’s never let West Ham down. He looks a decent player.
“But we’re talking about next season and Everton don’t even know what league they’re going to be in next season.
“So it seems a bit crazy to be talking players when really the most important thing you want to concentrate on is keeping your Premier League status.
“But he’s another who’s not been a full starter at West Ham.
“Can he be a full starter at Everton? Probably. He seems to be athletic enough, etc. So it’s up to the manager now.”
Coleman remaining the most influential full-back at the club as he battles injuries in his mid-30s is not a glowing indictment of the recruitment processes at Everton, even if Nathan Patterson has shown positive signs.
Clearly Sean Dyche isn’t sold on the young Scot, having preferred both Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate at right-back in recent weeks, and with Johnson able to play on either side he could make sense.
But with Claret & Hugh noting that his form at the London Stadium has been “mediocre” it won’t be one that particularly enthuses the fanbase, and as Campbell points out it all rests heavily on the final weeks of the season first.
News came out of Goodison on Wednesday (3 May) that Coleman hasn’t suffered an ACL injury, so his longer-term future is more hopeful even if the short-term doesn’t look great.