David Moyes is hoping Jarrod Bowen can make a similar impact at West Ham United to the one a young Tim Cahill did at his former club Everton.
Moyes signed a 24-year-old Cahill from second-tier Millwall in the summer of 2004 and he immediately settled in the Premier League, scoring two vital winners in his first four appearances and finishing his debut season as the Toffees’ leading scorer with 12 goals.
Just like Cahill, Bowen was a prolific scorer at Championship level prior to his move to the top-flight, and manager Moyes would love the 23-year-old to emulate the Australian.
I think we’ve got to bring Jarrod in to be part of the squad and part of the team, but what I will say is that he has really impressed me in a lot of things he has done and he has looked very sharp
Jarrod Bowen
“I can only go back and use my experience,” said the boss, when asked if he thinks Bowen is ready to start against Southampton on Saturday, after making two appearances off the substitutes’ bench. “I think it took Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka and a few others six months before they could get in the team and become Premier League players who all went on to become very, very good Premier League players. But others have come in very quickly like Tim Cahill, who I bought from the Championship, who came in and started and did very well.
“I’ll assess Jarrod and I’ll see where he’s at, but I want Jarrod to be for the long term. If we’re signing a boy from Hull and trying to find a way for him to be the saviour to what we’ve got, then I think that’s wrong.
“I think we’ve got to bring Jarrod in to be part of the squad and part of the team, but what I will say is that he has really impressed me in a lot of things he has done and he has looked very sharp.”
Another player hoping to earn a start against the Saints at London Stadium is Pablo Fornals, who scored after replacing the injured Tomas Soucek in Monday’s 3-2 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield.
“I was very pleased with his goal because it got us 2-1 up at Anfield and very few teams have got in that situation this season,” Moyes confirmed. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to keep it.
“I think Tomas, at the moment, is a big miss. Tomas is a miss because he has come in and he has hit the ground running right away in his three or four games in the Premier League. He’s contributed in a different way, so we’re disappointed we’re going to miss him.”
While Bowen and Fornals could feature this weekend, the game has come too soon for Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere, but the pair are edging closer to their respective returns from a thigh injury and hernia surgery.
“Andriy played 60 minutes in a practice game the other day,” Moyes revealed. “He’s still feeling his thigh a little bit so he’s not joined in with the first team yet, but he’s getting closer.
“Jack Wilshere has started doing some work on the grass after his operation, so they’re both getting back closer to fitness but, in the same breath, still a little bit away. I would hope he will play again this season. I would hope he will get himself fit enough and in a condition to do so, but I couldn’t guarantee that.”
