Jarrod Bowen’s attitude and application in training have already caught the eye of captain Mark Noble.
While the 23-year-old’s goals and attacking prowess were the major reason West Ham United moved to sign him on Deadline Day, his defensive contribution is also listed as a ‘strength’ by respected analytics website WhoScored.com.
Bowen attempted 62 tackles for his former club Hull City this season – the third-highest by a forward in the Championship behind two former Hammers, Swansea City’s Andre Ayew and Preston North End’s Sean Maguire – and recovered possession for his team 160 times, repeatedly helping his team win the ball high up the pitch.
Noble has been impressed by the forward’s work-rate and desire in his first few sessions at Rush Green and is looking forward to seeing him in action in Claret and Blue for the first time at Manchester City on Sunday.
Even in training, I could see that Jarrod gets after the ball as well, and I love seeing that
Mark Noble
“Jarrod has been training and he looks really good,” said the skipper. “I am hoping he will bring goals, enthusiasm, energy and hunger, coming from the Championship.
“Jarrod’s goalscoring record at Hull was second-to-none and that’s why we’ve bought him. We’ve bought him to try and help us out at that end of the pitch.
“But even in training, I could see that he gets after the ball as well, and I love seeing that. It doesn’t happen anywhere near as much as it used to, apart from at the top teams, so you don’t get accustomed to seeing it any longer so, when I saw him doing it, I thought ‘Yes! He wants it!’ and it was nice to see.”
Bowen scored more Championship goals than anyone during his two-and-a-half seasons at Hull, netting 52 times in 117 appearances in the second tier – eight more than any other player over the same period.
Two-footed, lively and direct, Bowen started just six of those 117 games as a central striker. Of the other 111, Bowen started 106 on the wing – 102 on the right and four on the left – and five as a second striker.
In addition to his willingness to tackle and track back, he also loves running with the ball at his feet, ranking sixth of all Championship players with 99 dribbles to his name prior to his move to London Stadium.
