Sports
Should Jarrod Bowen stay at West Ham? It’s a matter of head vs heart
When it comes to deciding on their future together, Jarrod Bowen and West Ham have a tough decision to make.
In August, the club will play in the Championship for the first time since 2011 following their relegation from the Premier League. As a result, they needs to raise £150million ($202m) in player sales.
Despite Bowen being their most saleable asset and his preference to remain in the top flight, there is hope from the club’s hierarchy that the 29-year-old forward will remain at the London Stadium to spearhead West Ham’s immediate return to the Premier League.
Bowen, who has four years remaining on the seven-year deal he signed in 2023, scored nine goals and recorded 11 assists in 2025-26. But he was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup.
If Bowen decides to extend his six-and-a-half-year spell in east London, perhaps he can take inspiration from Sir Trevor Brooking, who was once in a similar predicament.
The West Ham legend was part of the side that suffered relegation to the second tier in 1978. But after choosing to stay, Brooking remained an England international, and he memorably scored the solitary goal in the 1980 FA Cup final against Arsenal and led West Ham back to the top flight the following season.
Brooking’s loyalty further cemented his place in West Ham folklore. Of that 1977-78 squad, captain Billy Bonds and other senior figures such as Frank Lampard Sr and David Cross stayed. But in later years, many did not display the same loyalty to West Ham.
Take Joe Cole, Paolo Di Canio, Glen Johnson and Frederic Kanoute all leaving in the summer of 2003 after West Ham’s relegation to the Championship, with Jermain Defoe leaving for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2004 and Michael Carrick, the now Manchester United manager, remaining at the club for one more season before his switch to Spurs in August 2004.
Bowen is an exception compared to Mateus Fernandes, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Crysencio Summerville, Jean-Clair Todibo and Alphonse Areola, who are expected to depart in the forthcoming months.
Bowen has repeatedly expressed his appreciation to West Ham for taking a chance on him when others were less inclined to do so. Since joining from Hull City for £18m in January 2020, he has scored 85 goals and has registered 63 assists across 280 appearances. Most pivotal was his winner in the UEFA Conference League final against Fiorentina in 2023.
Bowen had an excellent individual season despite West Ham’s relegation (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
“This club means everything to me,” Bowen told West Ham’s official website in August 2025 “West Ham, for me, is just everything I know. Just the loyalty, the love that you get, even when things aren’t going well, that makes it such a special club.”
Sources with knowledge of the situation — speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their positions — say West Ham are yet to receive any enquiries for Bowen.
The forward can also look to other countries for other examples of players who remained after relegation.
Marcos Senna helped Villarreal regain their La Liga status after relegation in 2012. Renowned striker Gabriel Batistuta played in Serie B with Fiorentina in 1993 and helped them seal promotion at the first time of asking. After Juventus were demoted to Serie B in 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet stayed.
Closer to home, Stuart Pearce, West Ham’s former first-team coach, stayed with Nottingham Forest after their relegation to the second tier in 1993, and played an important role in their return to the Premier League the following season. Other examples include Jack Grealish remaining with Aston Villa following their demotion to the Championship in 2016.
Another factor may lie in the fact that, of the potential ‘Big Six’ clubs he could join, Bowen might not have a clear opening on the right flank.
Tottenham Hotspur should be a non-starter given the rivalry between both clubs, despite Mohammed Kudus making that move last summer. Arsenal have Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke as their options on the right wing. Chelsea, who recently announced the appointment of Xabi Alonso as manager, have Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Estevao and Jamie Gittens. Manchester United rotated between Amad and Bryan Mbeumo on the right last season, and are thought to be considering signing a left-sided forward this summer.
Manchester City have a plethora of options in Jeremy Doku, Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo, Phil Foden and Savinho. On paper, Liverpool could be a realistic option given their long-standing interest in Bowen and Mohammed Salah’s pending departure, but Bowen’s age — he turns 30 in December — could count against him, with RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, 19, emerging as Liverpool’s leading transfer target.
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe is also thought to be an admirer of Bowen’s, but his club are monitoring a host of wide options this summer.
A reunion with David Moyes at Everton is another possibility, but would Bowen really be interested in joining a club who are unable to offer European football? It seems like an unrealistic move.
Nonetheless, Michail Antonio, West Ham’s all-time goalscorer in the Premier League, believes the club should not prevent Bowen from leaving this summer.
“Do you want to be real? Let’s be real, it’s not a difficult decision,” Antonio told The Sports Agents podcast. “Jarrod wants to play in the Premier League. He has the quality and the skills to play in the Premier League. If you really think about it, he had the quality to be in a top-four club before them getting relegated anyway. I don’t feel like the club should stop him.”
This a matter of head vs heart. Bowen will have footballing ambitions, but his love for West Ham might outweigh the possibility of leaving. Forty-seven years later, Brooking has no regrets over his decision. Only time will tell if Bowen comes to the same conclusion.
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