Leeds United and Southampton may benefit from a West Ham player moving to Elland Road: Look at
Although Leeds fans will be thrilled to hear that Ben Johnson is being courted by Leeds United, Southampton could benefit as well if he ends up at Elland Road by the conclusion of the transfer window.
The West Ham defender could potentially join the Whites on a season-long loan, according to reports from The Athletic. While the signing of a top-notch defender is fantastic news for Leeds, Southampton may benefit as well.
Ben Johnson’s desire to Southampton
Football Insider claims that the Saints expressed interest in signing Johnson in the summer, and last month, journalist Darren Witcoop revealed that the team was still interested in the West Ham player.
Though the Saints will be sad to lose out on the defender, it now appears that Leeds is aiming to finalize a move for Johnson, which might be excellent news for the team overall.
This could indicate that Southampton is content to hold onto Kyle Walker-Peters, which would relieve some of the pressure on the team to sign Johnson because they would be able to maintain their England international right-back.
This encouraging news arrives just in time as both teams have a tough run-in ahead of them, with both teams well in the running for automatic promotion and a spot in the play-offs.
Leeds needs to sign a full-back this month since the Elland Road team is shorthanded after Luke Ayling left on loan to Middlesbrough, Djed Spence’s loan was canceled, and both Sam Byram and Junior Firpo were injured.
The 23-year-old is getting close to playing 100 games for West Ham, demonstrating the Premier League team’s strong regard for him. Even though he started West Ham’s match against Brighton on January 2, he has had difficulty getting into the game this season.
Johnson can play either side, which adds to the appeal of signing him. Although he is a central midfielder by trade, 17-year-old Archie Gray has clearly made the right-back position his own. However, Johnson would give protection as two right-backs, Ayling and Spence, have already left the team this month.
Left-backs Byram and Firpo play for Leeds, but Johnson is a very appealing possibility because he can cover both ends of the defense. Daniel Farke will be hoping he gets this signing over the line as quickly as possible, avoiding any late competition, because teams like Southampton would have been keen on the West Ham man if Walker-Peters were to go.
