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Jarrod Bowen is still the best finisher at West Ham United. The problem is, chances have not exactly been coming his way with great regularity, in recent times.
The skipper is now seven Premier League matches without a goal.
Despite that, Bowen still ranks higher than Bryan Mbeumo, Cole Palmer and more when it comes to goal contributions, his tally of 14 putting him inside the division’s top ten. Furthermore, Jarrod Bowen is both over-performing his ‘XG’ while also being down on his average shots-per-game count from the last two seasons.
Jarrod Bowen is still West Ham’s BEST finisher! 🎯
But is Nuno getting the most out of him?
All of this suggests that the West Ham United captain is as ruthless as ever, while not getting the opportunities he needs.
Yet, when we at Hammers News suggested that Nuno Espirito Santo could consider putting Bowen back in the number nine role he occasionally played under David Moyes, the response from our TalkingPoint users made it clear that the fans have a different view of things.
West Ham United fans don’t want Jarrod Bowen playing up top
“Don’t think so. He’s definitely a winger,” one said when asked about Bowen playing as a striker again. Instead, not for the first time this season, Bowen’s role as captain was called into question.
“Need to remove the captain’s band. He plays best without the captain’s band.”
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
“Right midfield is his best position,” another writes on our Facebook page.
“I’d like to see him link up with [Crysencio] Summerville, but we were doing well before he got injured. So stick to the team as before and hope we can score enough goals. That team was balanced.”
“Get him back to hugging the touchline, that’s when he’s at his best.”
Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe have a key role to play
A couple of TalkingPoint readers are urging Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe to step up.
Bowen hailed Castellanos and Pablo’s impact shortly after their January arrivals and, while they have only two Premier League goals between them, they have given West Ham a greater sense of mobility in the final third.
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Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
“Nope, he needs to get back to his best in his own position first. Taty and Pablo drag defenders away from Bowen and Summerville, leaving them more space to run into.”
“We need someone to score goals,” another counters, “because the two new guys don’t look like they have a goal in them.”
West Ham face Leeds in the FA Cup quarter-finals after the international break. Bowen scored twice against Brentford in the fifth round, and will hope to put his Premier League woes behind him again.
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