'It was a no-brainer for me to be here' – Bowen stays at West Ham
Jarrod Bowen's future at West Ham was in major doubt after their relegation from the Premier League, but he has decided to stay on.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen says it was a "no-brainer" to stay with the club despite their relegation to the Championship.
The Hammers failed to retain their Premier League status on the final day of last season, as Tottenham's win over Everton kept Roberto De Zerbi's side in the top flight.
West Ham were relegated from the Premier League for the first time since 2010-11, with their 39 points the most by a side to go down since both Birmingham City and Blackpool went down on 39 in 2010-11.
Bowen ended the campaign with 11 assists, his most ever in a single top-flight season, and nine goals.
Only Paolo Di Canio in 1999-00 (13) and Dimitri Payet in 2015-16 (12) have registered more in a season for West Ham, and only Muzzy Izzet (14 in 2003-04 for Leicester) has ever had more assists for a relegated team in a single campaign.
Overall, since joining West Ham halfway through the 2019-2020 season, Bowen has directly contributed to the sixth-most goals in the Premier League (114 – 65 goals, 49 assists).
Bowen was linked with the likes of Aston Villa and Everton this summer, but he has now committed his future to his boyhood club ahead of their Championship campaign.
"That weekend, obviously we went down and then I missed out on the World Cup so, in terms of a weekend, it probably couldn’t have gone any worse as a footballer in a career, but that’s just sometimes the hand that football plays you," said the 29-year-old.
"I did an interview after the game and said my vision is to get this club back in the Premier League.
"Sometimes you think it falls on deaf ears and people say; ‘he’s just saying that’.
"There have been things written, and different things said, and you have to look at it and bite your tongue sometimes.
"But when I say something, I don’t hide away from it. For me, the main thing is to get this club back into the Premier League and speak to people in the club about what we want to do moving forward as a club for the better of the club.
"It was a no-brainer for me to be here, and the vision is clear, it’s the Premier League."
West Ham's promotion bid will start with a trip to fellow relegated side Burnley on August 16, after Portsmouth visit the London Stadium in the EFL Cup on August 8.
