West Ham United have been handed a huge boost concerning Ben Johnson and Kurt Zouma.
What's the latest?
In recent comments cited by Football.London, David Moyes revealed that he withdrew Johnson at half-time in the Hammers' 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday as the defender was on a booking rather than because of an injury, while the 58-year-old also suggested that Zouma could be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hamstring tendon injury.
Speaking about Johnson, Moyes said: "I would have liked to have used another sub as I took Ben off because he was booked."
Regarding Zouma and the club's efforts to sign a new centre-back in the January transfer window, the West Ham manager added: "A defender is in our priorities but if we get Kurt back that might alter it."
Fans will be buzzing
Considering how important both Johnson and Zouma have been for West Ham this season, the news that the 21-year-old did not suffer an injury against Palace, in addition to the suggestion that Zouma could be back in first-team action before January is up, will undoubtedly have left the London Stadium faithful buzzing.
Indeed, over his 11 Premier League appearances in the current campaign - the most recent of which have come at left-back as a result of Aaron Cresswell's injury - the £2.7m-rated Johnson has helped his side keep two clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 2.2 tackles, 2.6 clearances and winning 54% of his duels per game.
These returns have seen the England U21 international average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.00, ranking him as Moyes' fifth-best performer in the top flight of English football.
Meanwhile, over Zouma's own 11 league outings this term, the £28.8m-rated centre-back has also helped the Irons keep two clean sheets and has scored one goal, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.6 tackles, 5.2 clearances and winning 60% of his duels per match.
These returns have seen the £120k-per-week defender average a SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as the Hammers' joint ninth-best player in the division.
As such, it is clear to see that both players are incredibly important to both Moyes and West Ham, meaning that the 58-year-old's latest update is sure to have left fans of the club buzzing.
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