In the unlikely event that [Jarrod Bowen](https://www.claretandhugh.info/jarrod-bowen-bio/) stays at West Ham next season, a major decision will need to be made by Nuno Espírito Santo because, in my opinion, he has failed to get the best out of his captain.
I understand that may sound like a ridiculous thing to say considering Bowen has still managed 20 goal contributions across the season.
But honestly, I think he’s been well below his usual standards for large parts of the campaign.
In many ways, it’s actually a testament to Bowen’s finishing and final-third quality that he’s managed to play below par while still registering one of the highest assist totals in the entire [Premier League](https://www.claretandhugh.info/premier-league-bio/).
Bowen Has Been Used Incorrectly
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I suspect some of the drop-off has been caused by either injury or fatigue, but whatever the mitigation, I don’t think Nuno has deployed him properly at all.
There is, of course, a separate debate over whether Bowen should even continue as West Ham captain moving forward, but purely in football terms, I don’t believe he’s being used in the right areas of the pitch.
At 29 years of age, I don’t buy into the idea that Bowen is suddenly finished.
Far from it.
If anything, there’s every chance the next couple of seasons should represent the peak years of his career.
Granted, there have been moments where he’s looked as though he’s lost half a yard of pace, but that could easily be fatigue, minor injury or simply the physical toll of carrying West Ham for long periods.
There’s been no catastrophic ACL or cruciate injury here.
Nuno Needs To Find Better Balance
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What does feel completely counterproductive is asking a player who turns 30 this year to spend large portions of matches effectively operating as a right-back.
Jarrod has proven himself as somebody capable of deciding football matches in the final third, which makes some of his deeper positioning under Nuno all the more baffling.
One thing I do know is this:
If West Ham somehow manage to keep Bowen in the Championship, he should comfortably be the best player in the division.
Used correctly, he’s the type of player who ought to all but guarantee promotion under the right manager and tactical setup.
It remains to be seen whether Nuno Espírito Santo is actually capable of being that manager.