Ben Johnson would make a smart move to join Suffolk Town from West Ham United, according to former England midfielder Carlton Palmer, if they were in the Premier League.
This comes after the Daily Mirror (21/4 paper edition; page 71) revealed that the Tractor Boys have entered the competition to sign the Hammers defender, alongside Southampton and Leeds United.
Johnson was reportedly the subject of interest from Leeds back in January; Southampton subsequently expressed interest as well.
He has stayed at West Ham for the remainder of the 2023–24 season, though, as neither promotion-chasing team was able to finalize a deal for the player.
Both of them are still interested in the player, but Ipswich is now posing a threat. Johnson’s current contract with the Premier League team expires at the conclusion of this season; therefore, if a new agreement isn’t reached by the end of June, Johnson will go for nothing.
Ben Johnson and Ipswich Town rumors: Carlton Palmer renders a decision
Palmer feels it would be a wise move for Johnson to join the Islanders if they are there since he will not want to join a Championship team and will instead want to stay in the Premier League.
Palmer exclusively stated to Football League World: “Ipswich Town has now entered the competition to sign Ben Johnson, the right-back for West Ham.”
Numerous teams, including Southampton and Leeds United, are interested in signing him. It’s said that West Ham and David Moyes are still attempting to persuade the player to agree to a new contract.
“When the season ends, his contract will expire and he will be free to sign elsewhere. The 24-year-old would have preferred to remain in the Premier League and play more regular football. Johnson was likely disappointed by his lack of playing time.
Therefore, the question is if West Ham can persuade him that staying will result in more playing time.
“I don’t think he will renew his contract at West Ham because he hasn’t signed a deal as of yet.
“I believe he would be well served by joining any of the clubs that are interested in him. There are three horses in the race, and I don’t believe he’ll join a championship club.
“He knows he will play under a young manager in Kieran McKenna, who is getting the best out of young players, so I think he will want to stay in the Premier League as long as Ipswich is in the Premier League. That would be a great move for him.”
“He has only played 14 games this season, and at 24, you need to be playing more games than that for you to develop properly. He is at that age now where he needs to be playing regular first-team football, so if he is not going to get that at West Ham, and it hasn’t happened so far, then he needs to move on to pastures new.”
It will depend on Ben Johnson’s wishes given his current circumstances at West Ham, but the fact that he isn’t playing much right now raises the possibility that he may depart the team at the end of the current campaign.
In that scenario, Johnson would like to sign with a team that will see him play more frequently—ideally, one in the Premier League, as suggested by Carlton Palmer.
Even though Ipswich still has work to do to make it to the top flight, he would be benefiting from working under Kieran McKenna, a highly capable manager, if they succeed.
Since Johnson would probably be viewed as a superior player than what they now have, Johnson might easily find himself playing every week if Ipswich were promoted to the Premier League and had to store up on options.
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