With news that Jeremy Ngakia has rejected West Ham’s latest offer of a new contract at the club, it looks nailed on the talented teenager will leave the club.
The Hammers were going to offer the right back an extension on his scholarship deal for a year in order for them to sort out a bigger, bumper deal later down the line. However, it seems Ngakia’s camp wanted that big pay day sooner.
West Ham obliged and the details of his offer have subsequently been leaked in the media. The Hammers offered a player with four Premier League starts to his name a weekly wage of £5,000 a week, rising after 10, 15 and 20 appearances plus a £10,000-£15,000 appearance bonus per game.
That’s a similar deal that Declan Rice penned in 2018 though he had a higher basic wage offered than Ngakia’s.
Football.London has learned the Hammers were advised to get in a lucrative offer to Ngakia in January when he was starring for the under-23s and had other clubs sniffing around. The club took too long to act and now they face losing him for nothing.
But that does give another under-23s star the chance to step up and fill the void that could be left by Ngakia’s departure - Ben Johnson.
The Hammers starlet was the next big thing to emerge from the academy after he was thrown in at the deep end for a stunning debut against Manchester City last season at the Etihad. He pocketed Riyad Mahrez that night and won plenty of plaudits.
Manuel Pellegrini didn’t use him for the first team again until pre-season when he had an excellent summer in Austria and then China for the Premier League Asia Trophy.
Back with the 23s, Johnson started the season in good form before a two hamstring injuries have gone on to wreck his season.
With the enforced lay-off thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic since March, that has allowed Johnson to recover fully from his injury. The under-23s have seen their season cancelled amid the outbreak, but Johnson has been training with the first team since they returned to Rush Green last week in small groups.
Ryan Fredericks is back and fit as well after a shoulder injury and with Ngakia’s contract situation, it looks like those two and Pablo Zabaleta will battle it out for the right back berth for the final nine games when the season gets back underway.
One thing Johnson has in his favour is his versatility. That debut at the Etihad came at left back when both Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku weren’t available. Pellegrini used him at full back on both sides during pre-season but his strongest position is right back.
Unlike Ngakia, Johnson did sign a new contract when he was offered it as he penned a contract until the summer of 2022. Pellegrini could see the 20-year-old’s talent when he whisked him off on a mid-season training camp to Marbella in February last year, just a month before his debut against City.
Now with the surprise news of Ngakia rejecting a new deal, it’s time for Johnson to emerge from the shadows and stake his claim for potentially the rest of this season, if not the 2020/21 campaign.
