West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has been called up to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the upcoming friendly matches against Uruguay and Japan.
Bowen had been sweating on his inclusion in the Three Lions squad following what has, by his standards, been a slightly underwhelming season. However, despite the Hammers’ struggles and occasional dips in form, his output has remained impressively consistent.
There had been growing calls for Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman to be included, but Bowen’s reliability has correctly won out. The West Ham skipper has registered more goals and assists in the Premier League than any other England-qualified player this season — a statistic that is hard to ignore.
The last thing we need as West Ham fans is our best player becoming disgruntled because he can’t make the national team. Fair play to Tuchel for overlooking the Hammers Premier League Position and picking on merit rather than reputation.
| Rank | Player | Goals + Assists | xG + xA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erling Haaland | 29 | 23.1 |
| 2 | Bruno Fernandes | 23 | 18 |
| 3 | Igor Thiago | 20 | 19.1 |
| 4 | João Pedro | 19 | 15.2 |
| 5 | Antoine Semenyo | 19 | 12.2 |
| 6 | Hugo Ekitiké | 15 | 12.6 |
| 7 | Harry Wilson | 15 | 8.9 |
| 8 | Jarrod Bowen | 14 | 10 |
| 9 | Morgan Rogers | 13 | 8.7 |
| 10 | Bruno Guimarães | 13 | 8.5 |
Bowen’s Versatility Key to England Selection
Another major factor working in Bowen’s favour is his versatility. England boss Tuchel is known to value players who can operate across multiple positions, and Bowen’s ability to play anywhere across the front line makes him a valuable asset.
In truth, when you combine his consistency, work rate and adaptability, it always felt likely that the West Ham captain would get the nod.
plus he can shoot with both feet and he dribbles past people with his close control – he has got better and better at this, improving his own game. It’s brilliant to see how sometimes he seems to squirm past 3 defenders or midfielders and comes out with the ball at his feet.
Would prefer a central captain, who directs, talks and that is not his style it seems, but I’m guessing that somebody like Bowen who leads by example and whose attitude is to assume responsibility for your attitude/performance, is coming into his own now and is a good captain to have for this tight run-in, till end of season.
Arsenal’s first and second choice right wingers are already in the squad surely there’s no place for their third choice? According to the table you published Bowen’s goals and assists are more than all three of them anyway. ⚒️⚒️