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West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen accepts form is not good enough to land England spot despite breaking club record
West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen admits his performances have not been worthy of an England call-up, despite the 26-year-old breaking a Hammers record in Europe.
Bowen missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad, but shortly after became West Ham’s leading European goalscorer after netting a brace against AEK Larnaca.
The attacker scored two goals in two second-half minutes as West Ham defeated the Cypriot club 4-0 on Thursday (16 March) and 6-0 on aggregate in the Europa Conference League round of 16.
“I’ve done nothing to get in there,” said Bowen, as quoted by BBC Sport. “It’s one of those things, these things take care of themselves.
“It’s not about getting in squads, it’s about playing my ‘A’ game, finishing strongly and going again next season.
“I always want to score and goals have not been coming this season, but I accept that. I will always give my all for the club.”
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Competition for places
Bowen was perhaps referring to his hugely impressive displays last season when admitting his struggles this time around, with the attacker having scored 18 goals and created 13 others in the 2021/22 campaign.
Those figures have dwindled to eight and three respectively so far this season, in what has been a somewhat disappointing campaign for West Ham overall.
Still, an England spot went to Bowen’s teammate and Hammers captain Declan Rice on Thursday, meaning it was not impossible for the winger to have snuck into Southgate’s thoughts. After all, he was handed all four of his England caps just last year.
But there is, of course, the small matter of the other talented wingers at Southgate’s disposal. That hugely impressive list includes the likes of Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford.
Despite this competition for places, Bowen definitely shouldn’t give up on his England career, with the West Ham man still among the top English wingers despite his dip in form.