West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui has just dropped a very clear and obvious hint about Jarrod Bowen.
Julen Lopetegui proved just how highly he rates West Ham ace Jarrod Bowen earlier this summer, when he named the 27-year-old as his captain.
That was no surprise, such is Bowen’s general influence and superbly consistent form at the London Stadium.
Jarrod Bowen should consider himself extremely unlucky after he was only given 17 minutes by Lee Carsley over England’s last two games.
If he played for Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United, would he have been given more game-time for the Three Lions? Probably.
The Hammers forward has been absolutely fantastic for us over the past few years.
The 27-year-old, signed from Hull City for £20 million in January 2020 (BBC), has firmly established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League.
Bowen has bagged an impressive 62 goals and 39 assists in 206 games in all competitions for the Hammers.
And now it seems like Lopetegui may well have a new plan for him.
Julen Lopetegui drops big Jarrod Bowen hint
The former Hull City star is our best and most consistent player, but Lopetegui may well have a new role pencilled in for him.
The Hammers head coach has been speaking to reporters about his club captain, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
“His best position? On the pitch,“ smiled Lopetegui.
“But it depends. He can play different positions, on the right, as a striker, number 10 too. Good players can always adapt. The smart players even more.“
In my opinion, that’s a real hammer blow for Danny Ings.
There’s just no way the 32-year-old will start a game through the middle unless Bowen, Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug and Mohammed Kudus are all injured at the same time.
New West Ham role for Bowen
I truly believe that Bowen has a new role lying in wait for him at the London Stadium.
Lopetegui is planning to use him as a centre-forward in my opinion, and that will enable him to use all of his best players in the same team.
Bowen has the pace and finishing ability required to play through the middle, and moving him there will enable Lopetegui to bring Kudus out wide on the right.
That will then free up space of Crysencio Summerville to start on the left wing.
I genuinely believe that Jarrod Bowen’s short-term future with West Ham lies in the centre-forward role.
We will get a clear answer later today when the Hammers take on Fulham. If Bowen is selected to start through the middle by Lopetegui, it will be obvious to see that Danny Ings is finished at West Ham.
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