West Ham have rejected an enquiry from London rivals Crystal Palace for defender Ben Johnson, according to David Ornstein. Johnson has found minutes hard to come by this season, making three appearances in the Premier League. He is arguably the best West Ham academy graduate in David Moyes’ squad and can be sold for pure profit if the Hammers are open to letting him leave. The fee might not be as high as they would hope as Johnson – who has made 95 appearances for the Irons – is out of contract at the end of the season. The 24-year-old can play as a centre-back or on either side of a back four. He has mostly been used as a right-back.
READ MORE: Liverpool v Chelsea, Marcus Rashford, Newcastle at Villa, Roy Hodgson in Big Midweek With his contract ending in the summer, West Ham have received an ‘enquiry’ from Crystal Palace, according to transfer expert Ornstein. Ornstein says the Hammers have ‘turned down’ the approach from the Eagles, who checked if their London rivals would be open to letting Johnson leave before Wednesday’s transfer deadline.
West Ham are keen on ‘offering’ the defender a new contract ‘in the coming weeks’. Palace have been busy this week, signing Daniel Munoz from Belgian club Genk and agreeing a deal to bring in Blackburn Rovers midfielder Adam Wharton. The Athletic correspondent Ornstein revealed on Tuesday that Roy Hodgson’s side will pay ‘around £22mllion’ – after having an £18.5m bid rejected last week – to land Wharton from the Championship outfit. Wharton – an England Under-20 international – has made 29 appearances this season, scoring once, having only made his Blackburn debut at the start of last season after joining the club when he was six years old. The 19-year-old has impressed with his maturity this term, despite Rovers’ disappointing form in the Championship. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side are 17th, 10 points adrift of the play-off places and host Wrexham in the FA Cup fourth round on Monday.
