Few players have made such a positive impression in the opening games of their West Ham United as Jarrod Bowen.
When West Ham signed Bowen from Hull for around £22million in January it marked a shift in recruitment.
David Moyes had made it clear he wanted to bring in young, talented, hungry players he could build something around.
And Moyes clearly got his way as Bowen is all of those things.
The Scot kept Bowen on the periphery at first, giving him brief cameos for the Hammers against Manchester City and Liverpool.
Star is born for West Ham
With 17 goals to his name this season before he arrived in East London, Bowen was in a rich vein of form.
And it showed on his debut away at Anfield as he made some clever runs and almost gave West Ham a 3-2 lead in the eventual defeat.
Then came the Southampton home game. And he started where he left off as he made a cunning diagonal run into the box, was found by Pablo Fornals and produced a finish any striker would be proud of.
He was brilliant throughout, tracking back, tackling, launching counter attacks and causing the Saints no end of problems. The 23-year-old left the pitch to a standing ovation in the closing moments.
Bowen put in an equally impressive performance at Arsenal. A constant thorn in the Gunners’s side, he made some electric runs and again was West Ham’s first line of defence from the front.
Bowen could be England wildcard for Euros
Sometimes his desperation to score saw Bowen shoot instead of pass. But he was still named man of the match in the undeserved defeat.
If he carries on this kind of form and helps keep West Ham up, Bowen could well be a wildcard selection in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020 this summer.
Bowen has never represented England at any level so far.
But that could all change.
Southgate could potentially be without both Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford this summer as both remain out after suffering long-term injuries. No return date has been set for either.
Jamie Vardy has retired from England selection.
Danny Ings’s remarkable season has stuttered recently while Tammy Abrahams has lost his place in the Chelsea side after an electric start to the campaign.
Raheem Sterling is an automatic pick for England but he too has been struggling for the last few months. And Tottenham’s Dele Alli has been desperately out of form all season.
Proud Englishman could make late claim for injury-ravaged England
Beyond that there isn’t much else for Southgate to call on.
So why not Bowen? The West Ham star is skilful, quick and can finish. He would also be something of an unknown quantity, a wildcard in every respect.
Bowen is also a proud Englishman despite his Welsh name (Evening Standard).
“Bowen is a Welsh name and the family background is more rugby than football, but we’re English through and through,” he said.
West Ham fans will be hoping that is quite literally true come the summer. The prospect of Declan Rice lining up alongside his new Hammers teammate is a wonderful thought.
But all West Ham fans care about for now is seeing their new hero help keep them up.
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