Former England international striker Darren Bent believes that it won’t be long before Jarrod Bowen is included in West Ham United’s starting line-up.
The forward joined the Hammers from Hull City on transfer deadline day for a fee of around £20 million (BBC Sport) but wasn’t in the squad for their game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday (Transfermarkt). However, it is likely that he will be available for their next game against Manchester City on Sunday and that is when he could make his debut for the east London club.
It seems that Bent is a fan of Bowen and he thinks that due to the lack of form amongst West Ham’s current forwards it will not be long before the ex-Hereford man becomes a regular starter in David Moyes’ side.
Speaking about Bowen and his chances of breaking into the starting 11 at the Irons, Bent told Football Insider: “He’s exciting. He’s quick as anything, he’s had a brilliant season with Hull. I think he will add to what they’ve got – he’s got pace and that was something that I think they were missing, a lot of pace and he knows where the net is.
“We know Snodgrass scored two (v Brighton) but apart from that, no one’s really set the world alight. When Antonio’s fit, I’d still play Antonio so that still leaves a spot for Bowen
“I don’t think he’s going to have to go in there, bide his time and wait for weeks and weeks and weeks, I think before we know it he’s going to get thrown in because nobody has really set it alight.”
Bent is probably right here, it is unlikely to be long before Bowen breaks into the starting line-up at West Ham. Indeed, he has been bang in-form in front of goal for the past couple of years at Hull, albeit at a lower level. After all, he netted 22 times in 46 appearances last season (Transfermarkt) whilst also scoring 16 times in 29 Championship outings this term prior to his move to the London Stadium (Transfermarkt).
Meanwhile, the forwards for the Hammers have been really struggling of late. Sebastien Haller has managed to score just twice in his last 19 appearances in all competitions (Transfermarkt) whilst their other attacking options – Pablo Fornals, Felipe Anderson, Michail Antonio, Albian Ajeti and Manuel Lanzini – have netted just three goals between them in the Premier League all season (Transfermarkt).
Moyes’ men have sunk into the relegation zone with just 13 games to go (BBC Sport) and need to start winning games soon. To do that, they need their forward players to be more prolific and with most of them currently misfiring, it seems very likely that they will include Bowen, a man full of confidence and who has scored plenty of goals recently, in their line-up as soon as they can.
West Ham fans, should Jarrod Bowen go straight into your starting line-up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
