Former West Ham United star Michail Antonio believes Jarrod Bowen’s next move should be obvious.
There have been claims that West Ham United want to keep Bowen despite their relegation, in what would be a statement of intent in the Championship.
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Bowen clearly has deep roots here in east London, and his immediate comments following West Ham’s relegation to the Championship certainly pointed towards a player keen to stay.
Still, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that Bowen has been linked with a move away from West Ham, and rarely have Championship teams been able to keep a hold of a player of his stature.
Antonio believes West Ham should not stand in his way if he wants to leave.
Antonio thinks Bowen should leave and West Ham should let him
Speaking to The Sports Agents Podcast, Antonio said: “Do you want to be real? Let’s be real. It’s not a difficult decision.
“Like, end of the day, Jarrod wants to play in the Premier League. He has the quality and the skills to play in the Premier League. Like, if you really think about it, he had the quality to be in a top four club before them getting relegated anyway. So, I don’t feel like the club should stop him.”
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It’s difficult to disagree with that in theory, but that does not really do much for supporters.
They do not want to hear about the club owing its players a debt of gratitude. That is not to say that Antonio is completely wrong, just that it perhaps strikes the wrong note so soon after relegation.
There’s little doubt that Bowen is a West Ham legend. That night in Prague will never be forgotten, but that doesn’t mean there’s not more work to be done.
It would perhaps be too much to suggest that Bowen owes anything to West Ham but it’s not a notion that should be ignored entirely.
He, after all, is the captain of a side who were relegated despite other clubs having much fewer resources.
That isn’t to be overlooked, even if Bowen clearly isn’t the problem.
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