Jarrod Bowen has landed in Florida and is looking forward to West Ham United’s Stateside Cup showdown with Crystal Palace in Tampa on Saturday evening.
Less than three weeks after being part of England’s run to the final of UEFA Euro 2024, the reigning Hammer of the Year flew to the United States to join up with his teammates and step up preparations for the 2024/25 season.
Bowen trained at the Tampa Bay Rowdies facility on Friday morning, as did fellow new arrival Alphonse Areola, but not before speaking to CBS Sports, who broadcast Premier League and UEFA matches live in the US, including Bowen’s match-winning moment in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final.
“It’s nice at the minute!” he smiled, when asked how he is settling in in the Sunshine State. “I got here last night, and it was a beautiful evening and it’s a lovely day for training, so I’m looking forward to the next few days here.
“I’ve been away in Ibiza and Portugal with the family, with the kids, since the Euros, so I’ve had a break and it was nice to switch off from football.
“I’m excited to start working on the training pitch with the new Head Coach [Julen Lopetegui] as all the lads have spoken really highly of him and are excited for the new season to start as they’ve learnt a lot in training and learnt a lot in the games.
“Always when a new manager comes in there are new ideas and it’s buying into those ideas and putting them into practice and into games, and we’ve got one coming up on Saturday!”
Having just returned to action, it remains to be seen if Bowen will feature against Crystal Palace on Saturday, but he does believe the fairly new trend of facing Premier League opposition in pre-season is a preferable way to prepare for the competitive campaign ahead.
“I think this is the way,” he confirmed. “Of course, at the start of pre-season you’ve just had a few weeks off, so the games are going to be difficult [fitness-wise], but once you’ve got your feet into pre-season and you’re playing teams that you’re going to be playing in the Premier League, it’s a really good test.
“Of course, pre-season is pre-season and you can’t judge off pre-season, but one thing about pre-season is that you’re learning as well. It’s not do-or-die if you lose a game, but it’s good practice to go into the season knowing the teams you’re playing against are giving you good challenges ahead of the season.
“It’s a good test for when we start the Premier League.”
Bowen, like some of his teammates, is visiting the US for the first time in his life, but it is meeting up with those teammates again after two months apart that is exciting him the most.
“I’ve never been to the States before!” he smiled. “The best part for me about pre-season is seeing all the lads again, for one, as I’ve not seen most of them since May, so coming back and seeing them was really nice, catching up with everyone.
“The other thing is the games coming up as I love playing football, so we’ve got two games left to play until the season starts, so I’m looking forward to getting back to work, playing games and preparing for the start of the Premier League.”
