Jarrod Bowen can’t wait to lead the West Ham United team out at London Stadium as he and the rest of the squad finalise their preparations for their Premier League season opener at home to Aston Villa.
Thursday brought the announcement that the No20 has been installed as skipper of the Hammers on a permanent basis. Aaron Cresswell has been appointed vice-captain, kickstarting a new chapter of leadership within the Irons' ranks.
West Ham are set to face Unai Emery’s Villa at 5.30pm, aiming to make a perfect start to the new campaign in east London after a productive summer that has involved pre-season action in Austria and the USA, as well as closer to home.
With a home clash first up, Bowen stressed the importance of getting off to a good start in front of a sold-out crowd, in order to gain confidence and momentum on all fronts.
"I just can't wait to get out there,” said Bowen, who rounded off pre-season with a goal in the Betway Cup triumph over RC Celta de Vigo on 10 August.
“There’s a feeling of excitement. When you play in pre-season, it is not the same as stepping out in front of your home stadium, especially a full house and with the game being on TV as well.
“There is a sense of excitement from the players, and you want to win your first game. The ambition is that you always want to get off to a good start and get a lot of confidence going into the next games after that.
“We have made some really good signings with exciting names, and the future looks really good for us. Now, it’s down to us to go out and perform.”
A historic 2023/24 season for Bowen saw him equal Paolo Di Canio’s record for the most Premier League goals scored by a West Ham United player in a single campaign (16), while he also starred on the UEFA Europa League stage to take his goal contributions to a stunning 30 in 44 outings.
Heading into 2024/25, the 27-year-old is hoping for more of the same and wants to help the Club seal a much-desired return to Europe.
“First and foremost, that is the main ambition - to get back in Europe,” Bowen confirmed. "As a Club, we are not in Europe this year, having had three good years there, so we are disappointed not to be in Europe. But there are a lot of teams who are close to taking that step up to becoming European sides.
“We have two domestic trophies as well that we would like to be competing for. The ambition for myself is to score goals, stay fit and play lots of games.”
It has been a summer of immense change at West Ham, as Head Coach Julen Lopetegui is leading the Hammers into the new Premier League season, while eight new arrivals have signed on.
And Bowen - who re-joined his Club colleagues towards the end of their Sunshine State Tour, after helping England progress to the final of UEFA Euro 2024 - is excited about the attacking, possession-based football that can be expected under the Spaniard.
He said: “He [Lopetegui] has had some really big jobs in his career. He’s come in, and you can see that with the work we are doing each day. This season is set up for an exciting one, as all of us as players are buying into his philosophy. We are a group who want to win and want to do well.
“It’s been a good and obviously intense [pre-season], especially when you’ve got a new manager with a different system and style of play. He’s a great person and a great man-manager as well, and we’ve had some good pre-season games in terms of how he wants us to play and set up, so it’s important to have ticked that off before we start to play in the Premier League.
“The main thing is that he wants us to work hard, which is a given as a footballer. But in the game last weekend against Celta Vigo, I think everyone started to see some of the attacking patterns we had, the goals we scored, and the chances we created. It was a sign of the way we are going.
“It’s still new for us as players, as we are still learning and understanding the system, but that takes time. We’ve got a group of hard-working players here who want to win, which I think is the most important thing.”
