da wazamba： Roshane Thomas has revealed the way that West Ham United youngster Ben Johnson had a big first-team opportunity stolen from him, on The Athletic.
What he did say?
da betobet： Johnson has endured a tough season in the U23s, as his progress has often been disrupted by injury, missing 11 Premier League 2 games and lasting just 17 minutes in one of the seven that he has played.
It is during the game that last just over a quarter of an hour that gave him his biggest blow of the campaign.
That is because this seemingly prevented him from getting what would have been a superb opportunity, as Thomas explained: “Ben Johnson suffered a hamstring injury against Newcastle United Under-23s in December. It was a blow for the 20-year-old because he was expected to feature for the first team in the Boxing Day game against Crystal Palace with Ryan Fredericks missing through suspension.
“Johnson is versatile and can play across the back four but has been injury-prone this season. This is the only thing holding him back from playing for the first team. Johnson was ahead of Ngakia in the pecking order for the under-23s, but the 19-year-old has become the first-choice right-back under Moyes.”
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Cruel scenario
The 20-year-old has only ever made one appearance for the first-team, which came during a 1-0 loss against Manchester City last season.
Therefore, to get the chance to show what he can do in the senior squad again would have definitely been a big moment for him – especially considering Pablo Zabaleta was there for the taking as the second-choice right-back, after he had recently struggled against Allan Saint-Maximin.
Just how cruel all of this has been for the youngster is highlighted by the fact that he has now been usurped by Jeremy Ngakia, who took his chance later on in the season against Liverpool and has now played four Premier League matches.
Johnson has still shown that he has quality despite his predicament, having made three assists in eight games across the EFL Trophy and Premier League 2, so he will be hoping to work his way into a position where he can get more chances.
Meanwhile, FFC writers have given their verdict on whether Ngakia can keep Fredericks out of the team.