As years go, to say 2023 has been a good one for Jarrod Bowen would be something of an understatement.
West Ham United’s No20 returned from the FIFA World Cup break eager to make up for the disappointment of missing that tournament – and make up for it he most certainly did.
On the pitch, Bowen has been in the form of his life this calendar year, helping the Irons avoid relegation from the Premier League, scoring the goal which won the Hammers the UEFA Europa Conference League in June, starting the current campaign in outstanding form and earning a deserved recall to the senior England squad.
Off it, Bowen and partner Dani Dyer welcomed twin girls Star and Summer into the world weeks before that memorable night in Prague. Then, in October, the forward committed his future to the Club by signing a new contract until 2030.
As he looks forward to his 27th birthday on Wednesday – the day West Ham travel to Liverpool for a Carabao Cup quarter-final – Bowen explained how, while his achievements to date have been great, the character that has brought him from non-league to Premier League means he will never stop working to improve his game and strive to make his team better...
I think I’m just in a good place.
I’m happy and I always think a happy player is a really good player as well and that comes from off the pitch, around the training ground and at home as well and I think that those are all factors that come into play.
I don’t think I’m doing anything different in terms of what I’m doing going into a game. I’m just doing the same of what I was doing probably when I was a youngster, when I was a young little boy as I’ve still got that love for football.
I want to score goals, which is a main part of my game, and just enjoy playing week-in and week-out so, of course, there’s always room for improvement. At 26 and nearly 27, people might see me as an established member of the team, but I’m just more about getting on with my own business and just keep training well and keep trying to play well week-in, week-out.
It’s hard to say because I don’t want to sound too egotistical, if that’s the word, by saying that I’m people’s role model.
I just, like I said, want to do my job and if people love me for what I do on the pitch, I’ll never stop doing that.
I just want to keep playing, keep bringing good moments to the fans and, and obviously signing a new contract as well, people will see me as part of this Club moving forward as well.
So, I think all those things factor into one where I don’t want to think about too much. I just want to keep playing and keep giving the fans the moments that they want.
I think I can give new players arriving pointers and try and help them but ultimately, these are top players as well and they’ve played in really big games.
Mo Kudus, for example, has come from Ajax and knows what it’s like to play in Champions League knockout games and stuff and played for for his country and at the World Cup, so maybe I should really be asking him for pointers!
All these players come in with so much experience and of course you want to help them along the way and there might be little things that you can help them out with that maybe they’re not used to. But, like I said, they’re really top players and they want to learn they want to listen, but ultimately I just let them play their game.
When you look at Mo, ever since he’s come into the team he’s been a real breath of fresh air for us, real direct, real energy and he’s got some really good goals for us.
Edson Álvarez has come in and taken to it really well and Dinos Mavropanos has come in and played some matches for us as well, so a lot of these players have come in and know what’s required of them. They’ve all come in, helped us with really good results and really fitted in like they’ve been here years.
My own role this season has been a bit different.
I’m not a traditional number nine where I’m the target man and and hold play up. Ultimately, I’m still kind of learning the position in the toughest league so of course, sometimes there’s going to be games where I might not know that my best.
It’s different and I might not touch the ball as much as I want, but I think with me there will always be a work-rate and a desire to win the ball back for the team. I think that’s one of my main attributes, especially playing as the focal point up front, I can be the first one to press first once we engage and then everyone can come and follow me behind.
Yeah, sometimes it’s been difficult when the ball comes up as I’m not six foot four and chesting the ball and holding the defender off, but I just do as well as I can for the team. I do a little bit of hold-up play after training and I’m learning each day and enjoying the role up there and if I can continue doing that then it’s all good.
There’s no better feeling than scoring goals.
Someone asked me recently about my first goal for West Ham at London Stadium against Southampton back in February 2020, and it’s still that feeling of scoring every goal that’s special.
It’s part of my game that I love, just scoring goals, and I’ve always been the same. I’ve always said to myself: ‘I want to be the highest scorer at the club each season’. And I think that’s what I want to play for. I want to focus on being the top scorer this season and that’s what I enjoy doing and what I want to continue to do.
Hitting double figures in goals is just like a benchmark figure for me. If I can get ten goals and ten assists in all competitions, that’s 20 direct goal involvements and I look at that as a good season.
Of course I’ve started the season well, but now it’s up to me to maintain that and keep going.
I always think there’s room for us to improve.
I think, as a Club and as a whole, we’re looking for those small margins where we can improve each each week and yes, we’ve got the results recently, but we want to keep improving and keep pushing up the table to challenge with the top teams who are up there.
I think we’re well prepared for the physical and mental challenges of a busy fixture list like the one we’re in now.
You know, we’ve been in Europe and this is our third year in Europe now so we kind of become accustomed to it, traveling away and maybe having overnight stays and I think it’s more of a mental block more than anything on a Sunday in that first 20 minutes of the game, getting it out of your legs and then getting up to the game and then your second wind comes in.
We’ve got a lot of squad depth here as well, so we’ve got a lot of players who are ready, who are fresh and ready to make an impact when needed as well.
I’ve been here with David Moyes nearly four years now and we’ve won a UEFA Europa Conference League trophy, we’ve been in European semi-finals, we’ve been here, there and everywhere together.
At the end of the day, the manager was the one that brought me in when no-one else wanted to when I was in the Championship and he showed that faith to bring me into this Club, gave me the chance, gave me the opportunity from the Championship.
There’s been so much we’ve worked on, you know, with different systems that he’s helped me look at.
With Alan Irvine, Stuart Pearce, Kevin Nolan and Billy McKinlay, there has been loads of help along the way and helped me settle. For me, because they know how I work, I don’t want to be told what I’ve done well, I want to know what can we improve on, what can we add to my game that’s going to give me an extra five per cent, with the ball or without the ball.
So, I always think every day is a learning day, there’s always room to improve. You’re never the finished article or the finished player. There’s always something that you can add to your game and I’m always looking to them, speaking to them, asking them what they think I need to improve on and then taking it onto the pitch.
