West Ham United: Jarrod Bowen shares ‘glad’ admission on Declan Rice exit
Jarrod Bowen believes people at West Ham were “glad” the transfer saga surrounding Declan Rice came to an end over the summer.
Speaking to BBC Sport on Friday (29 September), the 26-year-old winger said it was “always going to be tough” seeing his fellow England international leave the Hammers after he joined Arsenal.
But the winger added that “everything worked out perfectly” after his former captain led the Irons to a victory in the Europa Conference League final at the end of last season.
“It was always going to be tough when Dec left because he’s such a big character, not just on the pitch but around the place as well,” said Bowen.
“He’s been here so long. I think people were probably glad in the end that the saga came to the end because it felt like every transfer window, it was ‘is Dec going or not going?’.
“I think the way we finished in the summer with him captaining the side to a European trophy for the first time in 50 years, I think everything worked out perfectly.”
Fitting
It was definitely a fitting end to Rice’s time at West Ham after he played a pivotal role in helping the club lift the Europa Conference League last season.
It was a special moment for the 24-year-old after giving everything to the Hammers for a number of years and you could see what it meant to him.
It wouldn’t have been possible without the winning goal from Bowen against Fiorentina in the final, though, as he showed great composure to find the back of the next as the game looked certain to be heading for extra time.
While no one wanted Rice to leave, the day was always going to come and the club will be very pleased to have received £105million for him after some drawn-out negotiations with the Gunners.
But we can also be delighted with the business we have conducted in replacing him after a number of the new signings have already proved their worth at the start of this season.
In other West Ham news, video footage from the Lincoln game has shown why one player can’t be relied on.