Jarrod Bowen: Highlighting the value of West Ham’s underrated star

But his epic journey from Hereford United to the big time (via Hull City) has gone somewhat under the radar. Now in his fifth season with West Ham, Bowen has become the club’s most reliable offensive weapon.

The 26-year-old has had an exceptional start to the season - with six goals and one assist in nine games - including a record-equalling five goals in the first five away games of a Premier League campaign.

Bowen earned his fifth cap against Australia earlier this month after his incredible form saw him being recalled to the England squad, but this is a player who has always found it hard to raise his profile.

He was a stan-out player in the Championship for three consecutive seasons, but struggled to get a Premier League club to take a gamble on him.

When his consistent performances in the Premier League and in Europe saw him being linked to Liverpool, it was met with scepticism by fans who wanted a ‘bigger’ name instead.

Despite not getting the credit he deserves, Bowen is quietly going about his business and is showing once again that he deserves to be part of a greater conversation.

Jarrod Bowen Transfer Value - how much is he worth?

According to our Player Valuation Model, Bowen’s Expected Transfer Value (xTV) is currently €41.9million. He was only valued at €11.7million when he moved to West Ham and has been on a constant upward trend since.

The financial power of the Premier League means that mid-table teams can now afford to hold out for a significant premium before letting go of their star players, especially if they tick the homegrown box.

We recently saw this with the likes of Declan Rice and Brennan Johnson, and Bowen’s new contract until 2030 will see West Ham hold out for a massive fee.

The stats: Jarrod Bowen’s strengths and weaknesses

Bowen is a hybrid between a winger and a wide playmaker. The left-footed attacker plays predominantly on the right wing, but often drifts inside to occupy the half-spaces.

Playing ahead of a very attacking and creative right-back in Vladimir Coufal, who likes to overlap, gives Bowen the freedom to do this regularly. This comfort in central spaces has also seen him operate as an attacking midfielder or second striker at times.

Bowen’s passing statistics don’t make for a great reading. His 0.56 key passes and 0.11 assists per 90 minutes are well short of an elite player like Mohamed Salah - who plays in a similar role.

That can be put down to playing in a West Ham team that is not the most creative and has one of the lowest possession rates in the league. But when you watch him play, you see an intelligent passer who has the vision and technique to generate chances for his teammates.

David Moyes is happy to let the opponents have the ball, and sets up the team for transitional moments where they can hurt them through counter attacks. This is where Bowen is at his best. His ability to anticipate and attack space with his runs sees him drift into the box to regularly create goalscoring opportunities.

He attempts a solid 2.89 shots per 90 from these dangerous, mostly central positions, but impressively keeps half of those on target. His shooting quality can also be seen in the margin by which he has outperformed his expected goals (xG) this season.

Another metric which highlights Bowen’s finishing is post-shot expected goals (PSxG), which measures the quality of a shot on target by taking the end location of the shot into account. A PSxG figure of 0.47 per 90 compared to a xG of 0.30 per 90 shows that he adds 0.17 goals per 90 purely based on his finishing.

The former Hull City man is also willing to put in a defensive shift and ranks highly for tackles, blocks and interceptions. One of the only other question marks is if Bowen can break down deep blocks playing in a possession-dominant side.

But the Englishman has shown the ability to constantly learn and improve his game. There was a time when he struggled in the air, but he now has two headed goals and an aerial win rate which is one of the best for his position in the league.

With each passing game, Bowen is showing that he is one of the most underrated players out there, and his continued form can finally deliver the credit his talent deserves.

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