Ben Johnson is going through the same sort of learning curve as Declan Rice experienced in his Hammers first team early days.
And the 19 year old recognises that he has made mistakes in training….and will probably continue to make more.
He has already become on of the central talking points of the pre-season with a more than above average showing at right and left back.
It’s easy to be critical, plead that he’s given time and not put under pressure but the nature of the job is that all of that happens anyway.
And with Pablo Zabaleta in his last Premier League season Johnson has a real chance to learn from the old master until he presumably steps up as the major competition to Ryan Fredericks.
Indeed there are many who think that my happen this season!
However it turns out, the Hammers have discovered a fine young player who, like Declan, is set to save us a lot of money in the transfer market
And in his first in depth interview of the pre-season he said @ https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2019/july/30-july/johnson-its-down-me-grasp-opportunity-ive-been-given: ” I think I played well against Fulham,”
“I know I’ve made mistakes in training, but I’ve learned from them, which is good. I’m just trying to stay switched on.
“I just want to take on my form now. I think I’m playing with confidence and I hope I can keep doing so out in Austria and as we go into the start of the season.
“The back end of last season I started to play, and this summer has allowed me to get even more familiar with the boys. I’m feeling more comfortable. I’ve just got to really grasp this opportunity that I’ve been given.
I’m grateful for the opportunity and now I’ve just got to keep working hard and pushing on.
“I’m 19 but it’s on performance. Hopefully the manager picks me but that’s down to me and what I can do. It’s about working hard and showing that I am good enough to earn that spot.”
Pic via www.whufc.com
He added: “Saturday was a good win. It was a good game for us against tough opposition. It was their last game before their season started so we knew it would be a good test for us. We were up for the game and we’ve got to take that into the season now.
“Pablo (Fornals) is a great player and a great guy. He’s so friendly and you can see technically what he is all about. He plays with intelligence and you can see that in the positions he picks up. You can see he is going to be a top player for us.
“Sebastien up top is the cliché No9. He’s big but he can play as well! He will say he should have scored against Fulham, but I think he will get loads of goal for us. They both looked good.”
“When we’re at our best, we can achieve great things,” Johnson added. “We should aim high.
“With the players we’ve got, the calibre of talent like Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini, Sebastien Haller, Pablo Fornals, we’re showing we’re a big team and we should be pushing on.”
Interesting he never talked about chick pea