Andriy Yarmolenko nears historic record as former West Ham ace looks to emulate Jarrod Bowen

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With loyalty and ‘one-club men’ increasingly a rarity in the modern Premier League, Vic Watson’s place as the most prolific goalscorer in the history of West Ham United looks pretty safe.

To put it in perspective, the player in Graham Potter’s current roster with the most goals in Hammers colours is Michail Antonio. Upon the veteran’s eventual return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Antonio will hope to add to his impressive tally of 83.

Jarrod Bowen, meanwhile, is trailing on 70 but catching up fast.

Though, in the starkest of contrasts, Vic Watson plundered a truly remarkable 326 goals in a West Ham United shirt. Nearly a century more than the second name on the list, England’s 1966 World Cup final hero Geoff Hurst.

Watson also leads the way for league goals – 298 – and the for the most goals scored [50] in a single league season. A record which has stood unchallenged for nearly 100 years.

Fortunately for the aforementioned Bowen – having hit the target a record 51 times on the Premier League stage – a modern-day Hammers icon has at least inscribed his name into the history books in a more modern sense.

Andriy Yarmolenko hopes to emulate Jarrod Bowen’s West Ham record in Ukraine

Jarrod Bowen named Paolo di Canio as his dream West Ham teammate last year. What a partnership they would be; The former having overtaken the latter as the most lethal Hammers marksman in the Premier League era.

Over in Ukraine, meanwhile, former London Stadium wideman Andriy Yarmolenko has his sights firmly fixed on emulating Bowen’s East London-based goalscoring success.

Because since the Ukrainian Premier League was founded back in 1992 – coincidentally, the same year in which England’s old First Division underwent a re-brand of it’s own – only three players have hit the target more regularly for Dynamo Kyiv.

Yarmolenko sits fourth in that list.

Four more goals, and he will replace Yevhen Seleznyov on the podium. Yarmolenko is ten behind Serhiy Rebrov – the one-time Tottenham Hotspur frontman – and only 11 off equalling Uzbekistan icon Maksim Shatskikh with 124.

Yarmolenko only 12 goals away from making Dynamo Kyiv history

After a sluggish, injury-hit start to the season – and with his 36th birthday only a few months away – Yarmolenko may have had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him he was destined to fall short.

But with three goals in four games across April – enough to earn him a nomination for the division’s Player of the Month award – Shatskikh’s record suddenly feels beatable, even if the veteran winger’s hopes rest on whether the Dynamo bosses opt to hand him a fresh contract.

Yarmolenko’s current deal expires in July.

Age, as they say, is just a number. And as Yarmolenko proves his ‘class’ is very much permanent, the former Borussia Dortmund demon breaks into double figures for an eighth different season over two spells in the blue and white of Dynamo Kyiv.

“You can see for yourself what experience and class he has,” Dynamo defender Oleksandr Karavayev smiles. “I am glad that I have the opportunity to play next to such legends as Yarmolenko.”

Whipping a sublime shot into the top corner against Obolon a couple of weeks ago – dusting off that old party piece – while Andriy Yarmolenko has lost a yard or two of pace his left boot is as lethal as ever.