Mateus Fernandes is gone, Crysencio Summerville is going, but what about Jarrod Bowen’s future at West Ham United?
They say a captain should always go down with his ship. And though the transfer window is only two weeks old at this stage, there has been little sign of Jarrod Bowen abandoning his post and making a beeline for the life rafts.
Hammers News can confirm that West Ham are growing increasingly ‘confident’ of retaining the skipper.
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Alvin Martin, a West Ham United legend of days gone by, is an example the fans will be keen for Bowen to follow.
Martin was relegated in 1989 but celebrated promotion in 1991. He also remembers Sir Trevor Brooking deciding to stay at Upton Park too, following the demotion of 1978.
Alvin Martin hopes Jarrod Bowen stays at West Ham United
So as the sight of Bowen at Thursday’s kit launch raises hopes – he was front and centre in the photoshoot – Martin is not the only one looking ahead to the new campaign with a quiet sense of ‘optimism’.
“I do think there’s a lot of optimism with what we’re looking at going forward, especially with some of the financial decisions that we made; not having to sell players unless we absolutely have to,” Martin tells talkSPORT, speaking as Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky pledges to keep the core group together in East London albeit with Mateus Fernandes headlining a few high-profile departures.
“Look, there will be players that go.
“Jarrod is so important. But there have been times when good players have stayed at West Ham after relegation. I’m going back to when people like Trevor Brooking stayed and never regretted it.”
Brooking even turned down a move to Hamburg – two-time European champions in that era – while staying loyal to his beloved Hammers. The dearly-departed Billy Bonds would also remain after relegation. As did Frank Lampard Sr, Alan Devonshire, Julian Dicks, Steve Potts, Tony Gale, Kevin Keen and more.
From a more modern lens, current day heroes Mark Noble and Carlton Cole would stick around to help Sam Allardyce guide West Ham out of the Championship at the first time of asking.
Bowen could emulate Mark Noble and Trevor Brooking
Before their fate was sealed in May, Alan Pardew spoke about the potentially ‘catastrophic’ impact of relegation. Back in 2003, when they slumped out of the Premier League for the very first time, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson, Paolo di Canio, David James and Trevor Sinclair would headline an exodus continued later down the line by Jermain Defoe and Michael Carrick.
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Bowen, though, does not seem like the type to walk away from unfinished business. Not that Dyers Danni and Danny may give him much choice in the matter…
Ambitious, occasionally cut-throat footballers are not always renowned for their loyalty.
Yet, there are countless examples of star players who went down with the proverbial ship. See Pavel Nedved, Alessandro del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon following Juventus’ 2006 Calciopoli scandal. Franco Baresi [AC Milan], Gabriel Batistuta [Fiorentina], Marcos Senna [Villarreal] and Stuart Pearce [Nottingham Forest] would also enhance their legendary status by locking the doors to their proverbial cabins.
See also Jamie Vardy at Leicester in 2023, and Jack Grealish at Aston Villa in 2016.
In the meantime, Martin is confident that relegation could actually be beneficial for some at West Ham.
He wants to see Jarrod Bowen become a mentor to the next generation of homegrown talents, from Ezra Mayers to George Earthy, Ollie Scarles to Callum Marshall.
“We have got some younger players now who will look at this as a great opportunity for them to play,” says Martin, an FA Cup winner in 1980. “The Premier League is a very difficult place to blood and develop youngsters.
“I’m not saying the Championship isn’t a tough league – it will be a really tough league – but I think we will see some younger players getting the chance to play.”
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