The big question at West Ham this summer is will he stay or will he go when it comes to Jarrod Bowen – but the club may have just teased an answer amid interest from Aston Villa.
The Hammers were always going to face a battle to hold on to a player of Jarrod Bowen’s calibre if they were relegated.
A top spokesman for the club’s board has repeatedly told Hammers News that West Ham hope and believe Bowen will stay despite reported interest from a plethora of clubs including Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and – most recently – Aston Villa.
The father-in-law of the club’s captain Danny Dyer has revealed Bowen has told West Ham he wants to stay.
West Ham drop hint Bowen is staying amid Villa interest
But the likes of Champions League outfit Aston Villa are serious about testing West Ham and Bowen’s resolve.
Hammers News revealed last week that Villa’s interest gave West Ham, Bowen and his wife a serious dilemma.
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Radio shock jock Andy Goldstein rather spuriously claimed he has been told Bowen is definitely leaving West Ham for Villa.
In an exclusive response via Hammers News on Monday, West Ham doubled down on Bowen remaining in east London.
Now West Ham may have dropped a major hint Bowen is set to stay amid the interest from Aston Villa and others.
When there are doubts over a player’s future during a transfer window, clubs are very careful not to include them in promotional material, calendars or any merchandising images and videos for the season ahead.
While Ai may make removing players from such things easier nowadays, clubs are very careful not to court criticism from fans by including players in official club media that go on to leave.
New majority owner Daniel Kretinsky is said to have held successful meetings with key players and says they have assured him they will stay if he and the club sticks to promises made about aims and ambitions.
Bowen featured in appeal for West Ham fans to renew season tickets
As West Ham captain and talisman, Bowen is clearly one of those key players.
And the Hammers’ media team clearly feel confident the skipper will be around next season after releasing an emotional video about fans renewing their season tickets ahead of the deadline this week.
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West Ham’s players return for pre-season training on Monday and around 40,000 fans have already renewed their season tickets – a phenomenal figure for a Premier League club let alone one that’s been demoted to the Championship.
In one last push to fans, West Ham released a video urging supporters to renew now alongside an excellent minute-and-a-half video.
That video heavily features one player and one player only – Jarrod Bowen.
Bowen is beamed on the big screen on the side of the London Stadium and is shown hitting the post, then a close-up of the skipper and his name on the back of his shirt.
Footage of Bowen laying on an assist and celebrating follows as a West Ham fans talks about what it means for him to attend matches with his children.
Many fans are saying the same thing, that it feels like a big hint from the club.
After all they could easily have used other footage without the very deliberate and obvious Bowen references.
Some may think it is clutching at straws, but it certainly all tallies with what we are hearing out of West Ham about the captain’s future.
Time will tell of course and Unai Emery may test the waters by ordering an Aston Villa bid which changes the landscape.
But this certainly gives hope and encouragement.
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