It’s probably about time we spoke about Jarrod Bowen.
By ‘we’ I mean anyone who isn’t a West Ham fan. I’m a West Ham fan and I already know how special a player he is, but the rest of the Premier League’s fans still appear to still be sleeping on the winger’s qualities.
The England international’s winner against Wolves on Monday night saw him go level with Mark Noble and Paolo Di Canio for Premier League goals at West Ham with 47. Only Michail Antonio (68) has scored more goals in claret and blue in the Premier League era.
On top of that, his 34 Premier League assists for West Ham can only be bettered by Mark Noble, who has 42.
Since signing from Hull for a mere £20m in January 2020, Bowen hasn’t only been a consistent goal threat, he has become a symbol of what it truly means to play for West Ham. Passion, determination, grit and perseverance. He is already a legend, having scored the winner in the 2023 Conference League final to secure our first silverware since 1980.
His rise from Championship star to Premier League captain and England international has gone under the radar somewhat, most likely because he’s playing for West Ham and not one of the so-called ‘big six.’
It’s a very similar situation to Declan Rice when he was at West Ham. For years before his eventual £105m move to Arsenal, West Ham fans would hail him as one of the best midfielders in the world. Neutrals who weren’t watching him every single week often scoffed at these claims. Many continued to question what he actually offered as a defensive midfielder. There was an ongoing naivety around Rice’s qualities that it was becoming quite embarrassing that those who claimed to know ball still failed to acknowledge the lad’s talent.
History appears to be repeating himself with Bowen. His goal against Wolves was trademark Bowen. Not a single West Ham fan watching was surprised when he picked the ball up on the edge of the area, had the wherewithal to drop his shoulder, cut inside and guide his left-footed effort through a sea of bodies into the bottom corner. We’re used to seeing him do that. We know he’s got the ability to score all types of goals, even the quality ones like that.
It was a goal that would’ve had everyone else foaming at the mouth if it was scored by the likes of Bukayo Saka, Mohammed Salah or Cole Palmer. Pundits would’ve run out of superlatives for that type of finish if it was either of those players.
In fact, where Saka is concerned, it could be said that Bowen is just as effective as his fellow England teammate, if not more so.
Bowen v Saka
Credit: Premier League
Saka has 52 goals and 45 assists in 184 Premier League appearances for Arsenal. The eagle eyed readers out there might point out that that’s a better record than Bowen’s. Only just. The fact it’s only just better than Bowen’s shows just how good Bowen has been over the last five years.
After all, Saka has been playing for a team competing for Premier League titles, has better players around him and, many of a north London persuasion will have you believe, is playing under one of the best young managers in world football.
Bowen, for almost his entire Premier League career, has been managed by David Moyes.
It is that fact that makes the following statistic so impressive for Bowen. His shooting accuracy is 57.2% and shooting success is 13.2%, which are both better than Saka’s 55.1% and 12.7% respectively. On top of that, 11 of Saka’s 52 Premier League goals were penalties. Bowen has only scored two from the spot.
So the stats go to show just how good Bowen has been over the last five years, yet he doesn’t get anywhere near the kind of praise and acknowledgement that the likes of Saka gets. He even plays second fiddle to Saka at international level, despite arguably being a far more effective player, all things considered.
Now, I’m not for one minute suggesting Saka isn’t a good player. He is. He’s very good, in fact. But if he’s world class, then so is Jarrod Bowen.
You can be sure, though, that anyone who isn’t a West Ham fan will laugh at those who claim that Bowen is world class, yet in the same breath will claim Saka is one of the very best.
Jarrod Bowen celebrates goal v Crystal Palace
We shouldn’t be surprised, though. Big club bias is real. It is a thing. It often takes players having to sign for a big club for fans of big clubs to finally realise just how good they are.
That was proven with Rice, who was lauded as a ‘bargain’ by Arsenal fans last season after they realised just how good he is. I tend to agree with them.
But while Arsenal continue to be linked with an £80m move for Mohammed Kudus, my instincts tell me they’re interested in the wrong West Ham winger. On top of that, if Kudus is worth £80m, Bowen is worth at least twice that.
With all that in mind, while it’s time Bowen got more credit from those outside of West Ham, the longer he continues to go under the radar, the better. The thought of him leaving the club hurts more than it did when Rice was eventually sold.
The man is already a legend, but he can go on to become mythical in east London. Universal praise or not.