Ben Johnson has been able to agree a new contract with West Ham that will keep him at the club for the next three years. The 19-year-old featured in the Premier League for the first time in the 1-0 loss against Manchester City. However, he has been featuring regularly with the first team in training. After making 16 appearances for the under 23 squad is so far this season, the defender appears to have impressed manager Manuel Pellegrini sufficiently to earn himself a new contract. This is yet another commitment from West Ham to promote from within, as the youngster has been with West Ham since seven years of age. After starting out as a winger, the 19-year-old soon became a regular at right back.

His versatility will be one of the talking points for West Ham as they look to strengthen the squad going into the summer. He has also spoken fondly about his debut, which was against one of the best teams in the Premier League. Despite his lack of experience, Johnson was able to put in a decent performance. The 19-year-old is aware that he needs to keep working hard in order to feature more regularly in the first team. Interestingly, Johnson is related to former Tottenham captain Ledley King, who happens to be his cousin. Former England defender Paul Walker is also related to Johnson.

“It has been a whirlwind [since making my first-team debut]. I found out that I was playing at Manchester City the day before. I was nervous straight away, but then I felt calm and ready to play, told myself I deserve to be at this level now.I’ve kept working hard each and every day and hopefully there are more opportunities to come. I’m so privileged and blessed to be playing for West Ham, it’s great,” said Johnson.