**Jarrod Bowen has become our fastest-ever player to reach 100 goal contributions in the Premier League, but is he our best player in that era?**
Instead of building up to my final answer at the end of the article, I’m going to put it at the start. Quite simply, the answer is yes, and there can be no real debate.
Before bringing the stats into it, which are undoubtedly on Jarrod’s side. The 29-year-old is West Ham, and has epitomised what it means to be a West Ham player in the almost six years he’s been here.
He cares, he’s got passion, he always gives one hundred percent, and he is just absolutely pure class. He’s scored and created some crucial goals, to help us stay in the League, qualify for Europe, advance in Europe, and even win European silverware.
For that goal in Prague alone, he’d be up there, but everything else he’s done for this club over a long period of time is unbelievable, and there may be many more years to come. He has pace, he can dribble, he’s one of the best finishers we’ve ever seen at the club, he can create, he can take corners, he can score with his head, he can play both on the wing and up front, and he has leadership qualities. What doesn’t he have?
One thing he doesn’t have is the free-kick quality, something one of Bowen’s contenders for best player in the PL era, Dimitri Payet, has and some. I don’t think there is much argument.
Dimitri Payet was definitely a more talented player for the Hammers than Bowen. But the fact he only did it for a year and a half, and to be honest, as much as we love that Farewell Boleyn team, didn’t really contribute to any success or consistent performance at West Ham,
Bowen has been our best player, our most consistent player in seasons we were up in the top half of the table, finishing in the European positions and going far in those competitions, and obviously lifting the conference league and being the biggest part of that.
Another player who was part of all of that and left before it got bad again for the Hammers was Declan Rice. If anyone is fighting Jarrod Bowen for the title of our best player in the PL era, it’s Declan. A lot of us don’t like to admit it because of who he has gone on to play for. He’s gone on to be even better for the Gunners, but he was absolutely ridiculous for us.
His pace, his power, his leadership. Declan Rice had everything in a West Ham shirt, but I’m going to be honest, I think Jarrod Bowen’s time at West Ham just beats Rice’s. It might be a controversial take, but I think it’s spot on.
Bowen is just special; he’s never really had an off spell. The only one I can think of is his recent performances, but even then, he only went two or three games without contributing to a goal. This consistency and pure talent crown him, in my opinion, the best ever West Ham player in the Premier League era.
We can’t go through this topic without mentioning one massive name, Paolo Di Canio. The Italian was an absolute maverick, and the fans adored him for good reason. Like Payet, he had bags of talent, and his stats were unbelievable with 65 G/A in 118 games. He did it over a longer period of time than Payet, who got 29 g/a in 48 PL games for the Hammers. This probably places the Italian over the Frenchman, but it’s close.
Jarrod Bowen reached 100 goal contributions in the Premier League for the Hammers against Aston Villa on Sunday as he scored his 61st goal. That many goals, along with his 39 assists, made him the fastest and just the second player to reach this landmark for the Hammers.
Bowen achieved this feat in 209 games, following Michail Antonio, who reached the same feat in 268 appearances. The English striker is also up there for one of our best ever PL players, as he is our top scorer ever in the competition, and he filled us with tonnes of memorable moments.
My Top 5 West Ham players in the Premier League Era:
1. Jarrod Bowen
2. Declan Rice
3. Paolo Di Canio
4. Dimitri Payet
5. Michail Antonio