Glen Johnson was left impressed by West Ham’s recent improvement in the league and was delighted they signed a quality player such as Kurt Zouma.
West Ham have begun their season in style and kept their momentum from last season going. The Hammers finished sixth in the Premier League and secured themselves a European berth for this season. This term, two wins and a draw in three games have seen them climbed to second on the table behind Tottenham.
David Moyes has followed up on last season’s success with some decent activity in the transfer market. Their only regret would be failing to sign Jesse Lingard, who played a crucial role in their run last season. However, the Hammers subsequently signed Nikola Vlasic from CSKA Moscow to fill the attacking midfielder gap.
Their best bit of business was the signing of Kurt Zouma from Chelsea. With the transfer looking extremely difficult at one stage, West Ham managed to pull it off. There are hopes from the side to finish in the top six again this season, although plenty of challenges lay ahead.
Boyhood Hammers fan Glen Johnson was left impressed by the club’s recent trajectory and firmly believed they could succeed this season and beyond. Speaking to Betting Odds, the former Chelsea defender expressed his happiness at West Ham’s prospects.
Johnson said, “They can compete for the top half of the table, yes. But as we saw last year, they were flirting around the top four for a while, and it’s not easy to do as the big boys have massive squads with big players. It’s hard for them to compete with that of course.”
“For me, now, the top ten is nailed on, for sure, but hopefully they can just improve on last season and keep the fight going a little bit longer and hopefully creep up towards sixth and maybe even fifth. I think if they can keep everyone fit, then they’ve got good enough players to do that.”
Johnson also weighed in on the Zouma signing, expressing his delight the Hammers signed a player of such quality. The ex-Chelsea ace continued, “As a West Ham guy, I’m delighted that they’ve signed him, and I think it’s a great deal. He’s a good player, a young player and is super athletic. He’s a bubbly guy too, so I reckon the West Ham lads would be really happy to have him with them.”
“From a Chelsea perspective, I’m surprised they’ve sold him. There clearly must be something between him and Thomas Tuchel because otherwise, they wouldn’t have let him go, even though I don’t know that personally. He’s a very good player, and for him to turn up at West Ham is ideal for the Hammers.”
Also Read: THT 2021/22 Summer Transfer Window Verdict: Chelsea
Whether Zouma’s departure ends up hurting Chelsea in the long run remains to be seen. From the perspective of West Ham, though, his arrival ought to bode well for the Hammers and it will be interesting to see if he can contribute towards a memorable 2021/22 campaign.
