With David Moyes leaving West Ham this summer a new era is upon the club, with Julen Lopetegui expected to step into the Scot’s shoes officially on July 1.
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The Spaniard’s arrival is likely to herald a few changes in the first team too, with some players potentially not to Lopetegui’s liking.
Arguably, the East Londoners are not in a position for a ‘new broom’ to sweep clean, but a handful of new arrivals should help to encourage competition for places.
Ben Johnson will leave West Ham this summer
Of course, there will be some positions that have to be covered including in the full-back area as Ben Johnson is definitely leaving the club alongside his manager this summer.
According to Football Insider, the 24-year-old has refused all offers of a new deal from the club, and once his own contract expires on June 30, he’ll be a free man.
With no transfer fee to be paid for his services, he’ll surely become an attractive hire for a number of clubs.
Criminally underused by Moyes – he made 24 appearances in all competitions in 23/24 but played just 818 minutes per WhoScored – it’s no wonder that the player sees his future elsewhere.
The last time he was afforded 90 minutes by the Hammers was way back in February during the club’s infamous 6-0 home defeat to Arsenal, a match which was notable for thousands of West Ham fans leaving at half-time by which time the hosts were already 4-0 down.
It isn’t clear at this stage which clubs might be willing to sign the player, though he should be able to have his pick given his age and potential projection.
Were he to go on and fulfil his potential elsewhere, it’ll be another case of what might’ve been for West Ham, and the great shame is that Julen Lopetegui won’t get the chance to be able to mould him into a marauding full-back in an attack-based system.