Journalist Paul Brown believes that it is unlikely that David Moyes will decide to drop Jarrod Bowen from the West Ham line-up ‘any time soon’.
Like the team as a whole, the 25-year-old has had a disappointing start to the season, yet to get off the mark in terms of goals or assists in the Premier League despite playing all but five minutes in their first seven matches. However, he has at least scored twice in Europe, netting against Viborg in the Europa Conference League play-offs before scoring against FCSB in the group stage.
Despite his domestic struggles, Bowen was called up by Gareth Southgate to the latest England squad, and Brown isn’t expecting the four-cap international to be reduced to the bench by his club boss any time soon.
Bowen gets Brown’s backing
Speaking about whether Moyes would have a dilemma as to whether to drop Bowen following his goal-shy star to the campaign, the journalist told GIVEMESPORT: “I think, really, he needs to rely on the players that he knows are consistent and can do it.
“He’s more of a manager who likes to bring in the rest quite slowly, when they’ve got used to the system and the team and the league. So I don’t think it’s likely he will be dropping people like Jarrod Bowen any time soon.”
He’s still performing
Considering that Bowen was the club’s leading scorer in all competitions last season with 18 goals, he perhaps deserves more leeway than most when it comes to reviving his form.
His performance last term led Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to cite his progress over the years as “unbelievable”, having gone from play for Hereford to appearing in a European semi-final.
According to WhoScored, the 25-year-old ranks first among his team-mates for shots taken and fouls drawn per match, and also fourth for key passes and second for dribbles per 90 minutes, which would suggest that he is still among the liveliest players at the London Stadium.
Although the Hammers spent a club-record £51m on Lucas Paqueta and brought in Maxwel Cornet for £17.5m, who could possibly take Bowen’s place in the starting XI, it is perhaps more likely that the likes of Pablo Fornals or Said Benrahma would see their game-time restricted.
For now, it remains to be seen how Moyes tweaks his team to help atone for the Irons’ dismal start to 2022/23.
