Ben Johnson has earmarked improvements in the final third if he is to continue catching the eye on the international stage. The West Ham United full back is expected to make his England Under-21 debut against Andorra at Vitality Stadium on Friday evening in the latest landmark of a season in which he has become an established Premier League player.
The 22-year-old, who has not been part of the England underage pathway up to now, has scored once for David Moyes’s team and, seeing the attacking impact of other players in his position, is eager to make more impact to stay in the international picture.
“I feel I can get more assists, I feel I can create better chances. Maybe getting more goal-scoring opportunities and areas to score," Johnson said. “I don’t think any footballer is the finished article but I would definitely say those things could put me ahead of some players.
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“There are full backs who are getting so many goals and assists which really catches the eye. It’s something that I would like to emulate as well. Unfortunately, it’s not happened much at club level but I definitely have the capabilities to score and create goals.”
When the squad was announced last week, England Under-21 head coach Lee Carsley suggested that Johnson could be used in a back three against Andorra or away to Albania on Tuesday.
Carsley, who was managed by Moyes at Everton, visited Rush Green to observe a West Ham training session last month but Johnson said that he did not take it for granted that a call up would be coming because there is such depth to the options at England’s disposal.
“I’ve played right centre-half a few times at club level and I’ve quite enjoyed it,” Johnson added. “Being here, we’re probably going to have a lot of the ball because there’s top players here. That makes the system work well. As you see, the first team go from four at the back to five at the back and it works extremely well. You see some teams that have expansive centre-halves who can go on overlaps and sort of play as a full-back.
“It’s a position I enjoy playing, I’ve not played there a lot, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it and the coaches will want me to do something similar to what I’ve been asked at club level when I’ve played there. It’s not unfamiliar to me so hopefully if I play there, I’ll be able to slot in well.”
