Jarrod Bowen admits ‘mistake’ he let play on his mind during West Ham United struggles last term
Jarrod Bowen feels that he let his performances for West Ham be affected by trying to look “too good” last season in order to go to the World Cup.
The Irons star told Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with FIVE on 26 September that he “let it play on [his] mind” in the early months of the campaign and admitted it was a “mistake” focusing too heavily on Qatar rather than just playing his natural game, as he ultimately missed out.
The Hammers struggled for much of the Premier League campaign, with relegation a threat and David Moyes faced with the sack, before the former Hull City man’s winner in the Europa Conference League final in May put some gloss on the campaign.
Bowen said (20m 15s): “I’ve had the opportunity, I’ve played four times at West Ham, so I know that the opportunity is there for me to get back in that squad.
“I’ve had four caps, obviously I want more and to be in the squad but you get that from scoring goals, creating goals, and what you do, but to get back in that England squad is my aim.
“That first feeling I had, Hungary away, putting on that shirt for the first time and signing the national anthem is probably the proudest moment of my life.
“I think I made a bit of a mistake last year of coming back and there was a World Cup around the corner. I think I let it play on my mind too much for the first four months of the season to get into the World Cup.
“I think that’s why it probably affected performances and I wasn’t happy with them first half of the season because I was thinking too much of going to the World Cup, probably trying to look too good instead of trying to play my own game.”
Stressed to impress
The mid-season World Cup had various unwanted side-effects and this is just one more in that it proved a distraction to one of the best performers at the club.
West Ham players not named Declan Rice have arguably had to work extra hard to get Gareth Southgate’s attention, with James Ward-Prowse learning as much already this season.
So it is perhaps no surprise that Bowen ended up trying too much and it threw off his form, although he was by no means alone in being below par last term.
He is already making up for it this season, capitalising on his trophy-winning strike against Fiorentina with an excellent start to the new campaign with four goals and an assist from the first six games in the league.
With his contract currently running down West Ham are entering the same risky territory that saw them obliged to do a deal for Rice, and with Liverpool thought to be sniffing around for a Mohamed Salah replacement the pressure is on.
But indications from within the club, and Bowen’s own demeanour, don’t suggest a major concern yet and a new deal seems likely at this stage.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are now “exploring” a deal to sign a 59-cap international in the upcoming transfer window.