Precocious Johnson ready for England
Chelsea full-back Glen Johnson was today called up to the full England squad for the friendly against Denmark on Sunday.
The 19-year-old’s rise to the top has been rapid – he made his Barclaycard Premiership debut for West Ham only in January.
Johnson impressed on an individual level in the second half of last season, winning a call-up to the under-21s squad. But the season ended in relegation for the Hammers.
The opportunists started to circle for the precociously-talented youngster - and he was the first player to be signed by Chelsea following the takeover by Roman Abramovich, costing the Russian billionaire £6million.
His early performances for the Blues suggest that was money well spent. He has made the right-back slot at Stamford Bridge his own, and the club have made excellent progress in the Premiership and the Champions League.
He bounced back from a red card against Lazio last Tuesday night to score his first Premiership goal in the 5-0 drubbing of Newcastle on Sunday.
England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has now recognised his swift progress, after opting to leave him in the under-21s rather than pick him for the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Turkey.
