The major story at West Ham United this summer in what is likely to be a very crowded field is whether Jarrod Bowen stays at the club.
Indeed, West Ham United are hopeful that Bowen will stay following their relegation but that is far from certain.
It is rare that a Championship club have been able to keep a hold of a player quite as good as Bowen, who was one of the Premier League’s leading forwards last season.
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Still, Bowen obviously has very deep roots here in east London, so perhaps his case is slightly different.
If he is still mulling over his future, something Michael Carrick said back in 2012 should be of interest to Bowen.
Carrick claimed playing for West Ham in the Championship made him stronger
Clearly, Carrick was at a much earlier stage of his career when he was relegated with West Ham back in 2003.
However, when speaking to The Guardian in 2014, the current Manchester United manager talked of how the fact he was relegated during his time with the Hammers eventually spurred him on to even greater success.
“Going down, playing in the Championship, I constantly remind myself of that,” he said. “I still remember the feeling, without doubt, I wouldn’t allow myself to forget it. Those are the things that drive you on, that end up making you stronger.”
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West Ham’s relegation from the Premier League back in 2003 led to a mass exodus. The likes of Joe Cole, Glen Johnson and Paolo Di Canio all left the club, but Carrick remained.
That certainly served him well. Carrick was predictably excellent in the second tier and while that did not end in an immediate promotion, he is on record in saying that it helped drive him on to future success.
Playing in the Championship is not all bad. Bowen is not part of England’s World Cup squad either, so it’s not as if he would be risking his international place to any great degree.
Leading what is hopefully a West Ham surge back into the Premier League might just be the perfect response to that England snub.
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