Rangers transfer update shared on West Ham United ace Ben Johnson as talks ongoing
Rangers will struggle to get a deal over the line for West Ham United defender Ben Johnson, according to BBC Sport.
Simon Stone [4 June] reported that Johnson remains in talks with West Ham over a new deal, with his existing contract expiring at the end of this month.
Rangers are expected not to be able to meet the 24-year-old’s demands, having been linked with a free transfer to bring Johnson to Ibrox [The Athletic].
The club may be on the search for a new right-back with captain James Tavernier mooted for a Saudi reunion with ex-boss Steven Gerrard.
Stone said: “West Ham defender Ben Johnson is still in talks with the club over extending his stay at the London Stadium.
“The former England Under-21 star has been linked to a number of clubs over the past few months, including Rangers and Leeds United.
“However, it seems the Scottish giants will struggle to meet Johnson’s personal terms and in the meantime talks will continue with the Hammers, the club he joined as a young boy.”
Rangers may miss out on Ben Johnson
Johnson’s Premier League experience, age profile and versatility are all factors which are attracting some huge clubs his way.
However, the Hammers youth product will be consistently reminded of this by his agent in order to ramp up a potentially lucrative salary package and, due to his free agent status, bumper signing-on fee.
West Ham are of course keen to keep Johnson around for the same attributes listed above, hence the lengthy talks in the hope of striking a deal, but he was not favoured by previous manager David Moyes having started just four league matches this past season.
There will be a strict limit on the game time Johnson’s boyhood club can offer him whilst Tim Steidten leads a mission to recruit from all over the world for new head coach Julen Lopetegui’s squad next campaign.
With Leeds also rivalling Rangers for Johnson’s services, the Light Blues could be boosted by the fact the Yorkshiremen can only offer Championship football, whilst European football is once again on offer at Ibrox – but the deal at Elland Road with Red Bull could flex Leeds’ financial muscle to a further extent than Rangers can manage.
From the outside looking in, though, this smells of a player using interest from elsewhere to drive a better deal for himself.
In other Rangers news, there is more right-back talk as an Arsenal youngster’s contract expires.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.