Leeds ready to swoop ‘very fast’ for Premier League defender who’s out of contract in summer

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Leeds United have been linked with West Ham United’s Ben Johnson in recent weeks.

The Whites are said to be on the lookout for defensive reinforcements after allowing Luke Ayling and Djed Spence to leave this month.

In addition, Leeds defender Charlie Cresswell is attracting admiring glances from other clubs amid a continued struggle for game time.

Last week, The Athletic, reported that the Whites are now looking at Johnson, who is currently struggling for minutes at the London Stadium.

Now, Ben Jacobs has shared the latest on the state of play involving Leeds and the 23-year-old Hammers full-back, who is out of contract in the summer.

Leeds in favour of signing Ben Johnson in January transfer window

The journalist, writing on GiveMeSport, believes that Daniel Farke and his recruitment want to make a play to bring him to Elland Road in the January transfer window.

Jacobs also reckons that, if Leeds can convince West Ham to allow Johnson to depart for a low fee or nothing at all, then they’d likely move fast to secure his services.

“Ben Johnson is the other one on the list. So one of those two is possible,” wrote Jacobs.

“And again, Ben Johnson hasn’t seen that many minutes. He’s out of contract in the summer.

“But Leeds are in favour, I’m told, of not waiting until the summer, they want to move now. They would take Ben Johnson on a loan.

“So it’s just about whether or not they can agree terms because West Ham would want a fee, even though the player’s contract is running down.

“So I think if Leeds could move for Johnson and get a low fee, or somehow persuade West Ham for no fee, then they would move very fast.

“But there’s a few negotiation points to get that one over the line.”

Leeds targeting ‘wonderful professional’ Ben Johnson

Johnson is a superb player who has proven himself at Premier League level and would no doubt be a cut above for Leeds in the Championship.

In 2021, Declan Rice wrote “Ben Johnson, that is all” on X. Meanwhile, Stuart Pearce told BBC Sport the same year that the 23-year-old is “a wonderful professional”.

Johnson can play both at right-back and at left-back, which would make him a versatile option for Farke.

However, he’s not the only defender on the Leeds radar this month.

As per GMS, Leeds are apparently also looking at Nico Williams, Connor Roberts, Ben Davies and Ryan Giles as potential defensive recruits.

Let’s see what happens in the coming weeks. With just under two weeks left of the January transfer window, things may well start picking up pace in the market.