MY ACCOUNT
Since not featuring in either of England’s Nations League games last month, Jarrod Bowen has been a man on a mission.
The West Ham forward has scored in both of his last two Premier League outings and looks a player returning to his best.
But is it too late for the 25-year-old to force his way back into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans?
Ahead of the Hammers’ Europa Conference League clash with Anderlecht tonight, we assess his chances of selection.
Goals, goals, goals
Bowen is back on the goal trail after failing to score in any of his first seven Premier League games of the season.
He was involved in Gianluca Scamacca’s opener against Wolves at the start of the month, then opened his league account for the campaign with a sharp half-volley to seal a 2-0 win.
Last Sunday, he put in the corner that earned his side a penalty which he duly slotted past Bernd Leno to double his top-flight tally for the season and level the scores before the Hammers earned a 3-1 victory.
For a man who scored 18 goals and assisted 13 in the Irons’ marathon 2021-22 campaign, the signs are good.
And it is little surprise that West Ham have won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since January with their Leominster-born star back to his best.
Moyes foresaw it
While it may not have appeared the case from the outside, the turnaround in form had been coming.
Ahead of West Ham’s 1-0 defeat to Everton before the international break, boss David Moyes tipped Bowen to star.
The Glaswegian coach, 59, said: “I’m just beginning to see Jarrod getting back to it, there are little bits coming back and signs of it.
“At the start of last season after the Euros, I thought Declan Rice was fantastic, whereas a lot of the England players didn’t find their levels quite as much, so it can happen.
“The international football, the little rest time you get during the summer can play a part in that.
“But we’re just beginning to see good signs from Jarrod and hopefully I’m right.”
What the stats say
A quick look at Bowen’s displays in the first seven league games of the campaign compared to the last two paint an intriguing picture.
He had no goals, 15 shots with only one on target, created seven chances and completed six of his 14 take-ons.
Against Wolves and Fulham, he had nine shots, four of them on target, scored and missed a big chance and created five for team-mates — interestingly he did not attempt a take-on.
During those wins he made more passes, had more touches and stopped trying so many long balls.
England omission
While Bowen was part of Southgate’s squad for the Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany, he did not feature in either.
That came after being heavily involved in June, when he started two of the games and came off the bench in the other two.
Having fallen back down the pecking order, the ex-Hull winger’s poor form looked to be ruling him out of World Cup contention.
Anything can happen
There are 10 West Ham games before the break for the World Cup and ex-Irons ace Matt Jarvis reckons Bowen should put England to the back of his mind.
Speaking to LiveScore, he said: “There is so much time. He is back to playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League and Europe.
“He needs to not think about England. He just needs to carry on.
“When he is on form, when he is confident, he is such an important player for West Ham.”
Injuries will alter Southgate’s squad over the next month — you only need to look at the setbacks suffered by Reece James, Kyle Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold as an example of that.
If Bowen continues on his upward trajectory, he will put himself in prime position to take advantage of any gaps that may open in Southgate’s forward department.
