West Ham United badge, Jarrod Bowen
West Ham United gem Jarrod Bowen [Credit: Imago]
Zak Anderton
Mon 16 December 2024 16:10, UK
West Ham United as a whole have been under plenty of scrutiny this season due to their lack of consistency across all competitions.
They currently sit 14th in the Premier League thanks to a morale-boosting 2-1 victory over Wolves on 9 December.
Julen Lopetegui’s job has been one of the main topics of conversation from the London Stadium camp, but as was shown against Gary O’Neil’s men, the Spaniard is always finding ways to extend his tenure.
Jarrod Bowen has been a particular helping hand in the case of keeping Lopetegui in his role and has arguably been one of the Hammers’ best players this season.
His versatility has been more than beneficial to Lopetegui this term thanks to the lack of final third form his strikers such as Danny Ings have shown this term.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
In their game against Wolves that was dubbed “El Sackico” by some, Bowen once again showed why he’s key to the Hammers’ set-up and why he could be key in West Ham earning all three points from their clash against Bournemouth on Monday evening (16 December).
Jarrod Bowen is key to the West Ham United squad
As aforementioned, Bowen’s versatility alongside his final third form has been pivotal to some of the points they’ve earned this term.
His performance at the London Stadium last Monday was a highlight of his season and as per Sofascore, in the 90 minutes he was on the pitch, the Englishman maintained a pass accuracy of 82 per cent and had 58 touches of the ball.
Bowen had a say in both of the Hammers’ goals as he bagged one himself, having earlier assisted Tomas Soucek for the opener.
Of the 23 passes he completed, three of those were deemed ‘key’. That shows the impact he had in the final third despite only having an xG of 0.22 and an xA of 0.10.
He also completed 50 per cent of the dribbles he attempted throughout the game and managed to get 100 per cent of the long balls he attempted to his intended target.
West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen
Jarrod Bowen is contracted to West Ham United until 2030. (Credit: Imago)
Defensively, he was also fairly solid, with the attacker winning 50 per cent of his ground duels, making one interception, two tackles, and blocking one shot.
If Lopetegui wants to prove the doubters wrong and beat Andoni Iraola’s men on Monday, Bowen quite simply has to be on top of his game again.
And with questions still circling over the Spaniard’s future at the club, it may well be that Bowen’s form determines just how long he stays in charge.
In other West Ham news, one ace is surely sweating over his future as a January replacement has been eyed.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone
Related Posts