The impressive displays of West Ham youth product Ben Johnson recently could be making defender Vladimir Coufal worried about his future place in the squad.
After picking up a niggling groin injury just over a month ago, usual starting right back Coufal has had to miss a host of important games for the Hammers.
In his absence, with the likes of Ryan Fredericks also struggling with injury, youth product Ben Johnson has stepped up to the plate for David Moyes’ side – performing excellently in every game he has been called upon.
Starting the previous five of West Ham’s fixtures, Johnson has helped keep four clean sheets and even grabbed himself a spectacular goal during the Hammers’ 4-1 victory over Aston Villa last weekend.
Standing out against the likes of Tottenham, Manchester City and Everton, not to mention in the Europa League, Johnson has definitely done enought to warrant keeping his place ahead of Coufal moving forward.
But where does that leave Coufal? As the Czech Republic international returns to full fitness this week, Moyes has a big decision on his hands for future games. Dropping Johnson when he is in form could be a risky move for the manager, despite the talents of Coufal.
Coufal impressed heavily in his debut season for the Hammers last year, producing seven assists and numerous solid defensive displays, but has struggled to keep up to pace so far in this campaign.
The easy answer for Moyes would be to put the former Slavia Prague defender straight back into his starting XI, and rightly so. Given the number of games West Ham have this season, it is important that Coufal is back to his best and he has proved more than enough times that he can excel in this team.
However, now the right-back has cause to worry about his future position in the squad, especially if Johnson continues to play at his current level. Aged only 21, he will still be hungry to improve – and Moyes will have a selection headache over the next few months.
Coufal should also welcome this competition as a right-back, and perhaps this will help improve his form this season. But with Johnson clipping at the back of his heels, the right-back should definitely be cautious when playing for his starting spot in the future.
