West Ham United have given Ben Johnson another last-ditch contract offer amid interest from Rangers in the exit-bound defender, according to The Athletic.
The outlet reported via their website on June 11 that the Hammers had put a five-year agreement on better terms on the table to prevent the versatile defender from leaving the club at the end of the month on a free transfer, and he is believed to be evaluating “all his options.”.
The Light Blues are one of a number of clubs that have been credited with an interest in signing the 24-year-old if he becomes available, amid concern surrounding captain and long-term starter James Tavernier.
Two former Ibrox managers are interested in recruiting the Light Blues hero, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst seeking him at new club Besiktas [Sozcu, 9 June] and Steven Gerrard long-thought to be pursuing a reunion at Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League [Daily Record, 24 May].
West Ham to keep Rangers target at the final minute?
Johnson appeared to be set on leaving the London Stadium after rejecting many earlier offers from the club, but the move at manager from David Moyes to Julen Lopetegui has changed the scenario as the latter plainly wants to keep the Englishman from going.
Whether that will be enough to change the 24-year-old’s mind about moving on remains to be seen, but he is scheduled to enter the open market in less than three weeks, as things stand.
Rangers are far from the only outfit interested in landing him if he does, and it might be a difficult race to win against many English Premier League clubs either way.If Tavernier continues, it is even tougher to envision a player like Johnson being interested in an Ibrox switch when it is a lack of game time in East London that has driven him this close to the exit.
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But if Philippe Clement thinks this summer is the time to cash in on the captain, there will be a massive void at right-back left in his wake.
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