Everton want to sign West Ham United ace Ben Johnson in January as £60k p/w demands emerge
Everton are still interested in signing West Ham defender Ben Johnson after it emerged he is refusing to sign a new deal amid his £60,000 per week wage demands.
Writing on their website (28 December), West Ham news outlet Claret and Hugh report the full-back and the Hammers haven’t come to terms on a new deal with his current contract due to expire in the summer.
He now looks set to leave either in January or at the end of the season, and Everton are the club showing interest in his services with Sean Dyche keen to bolster his side.
“Defender Ben Johnson is refusing to sign a new deal with the Hammers,” they wrote.
“There had been a feeling that with there being no serious back up to Emerson at left back, the academy produced player may have had a chance of remaining at the club.
“But Claret and Hugh has learned this afternoon that it is not going to happen based on the demands the player and his representatives want in personal terms.
“We have been told that they are looking for £60k a week which the club are simply not willing to pay to a player who remains on the fringes of the first team at best.
“Everton are believed to be maintaining an interest in the defender who celebrates his 24th birthday next month.”
Bolster
Defensively Everton have been pretty strong this season, but full-back is certainly an area where the team lacks real quality depth.
Right-back Nathan Patterson is still learning how to be a Sean Dyche defender while Ashley Young and Seamus Coleman are well past their prime, while on the left Vitalii Mykolenko is excellent but Young is the only alternative.
Bringing in a player with so much Premier League experience on a relatively cheap deal would make an awful lot of sense, and his versatility to be able to play on both flanks as well as in the middle of a back-three can only be seen as a positive thing.
Kevin Thelwell has made it clear that it’s likely to be a somewhat quiet month with not much money to spend, but this is the type of deal that improves the squad and should be easy to do so don’t be surprised if it ends up coming to fruition.
In other Everton news, Toffees ‘very likely’ to terminate loan deal early in January.