David Moyes hit the jackpot with this acquisition.
Arsenal dismantled woeful Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday night to remind West Ham United just how good Declan Rice really is.
Of course, Hammers fans need little reminder of a player who engineered such illustrious success under David Moyes, winning the club’s Player of the Season award for the past two years and clinching the Europa Conference League last June before making the cross-London switch for a staggering £105m.
All-encompassing and every-ounce-brilliant Rice is the prized jewel to have emerged from Moyes’ tenure, but his departure felt inevitable and it was paramount that money recouped from his sale was redirected toward signings capable of making an impact, ensuring that West Ham keep a foothold on their position as a regular competitor for continental competition.
That, by and large, has happened, and while replacing the England international directly would be somewhat futile the likes of Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse have impressed in the centre of the park and Konstantinos Mavropanos has added mettle to the backline, while Mohammed Kudus has been exceptional in pumping fresh life to a frontline still in need of something more.
Of course, while West Ham are likely to target a top-class centre-forward during the off-season, Jarrod Bowen hasn’t been doing a half-bad job as the team’s principal goalscorer, and for all the fresh faces, the 27-year-old remains the standout of the Hammers squad.
Jarrod Bowen’s season in numbers
Described as “unplayable” by Thomas Frank after recently dismantling his Brentford side with a hat-trick in the Premier League, Bowen has been a brilliant talisman for a West Ham side lacking a focal frontman this season.
Veteran Michail Antonio and Danny Ings have both been poor, the former struggling with injuries and Ings yet to find the back of the net in 2023/24.
Bowen, naturally a right-sided winger, has operated in flux and played as the striker and in his favoured position, scoring 17 goals and adding six assists across 33 fixtures for his troubles.
A menace in the Premier League, Bowen has posted 14 goals from 26 matches, complementing his prolific return with 3.5 ball recoveries and 4.3 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore.
His defensive application has formed the foundation of his success under Moyes’ wing, ranking among the top 13% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 1% for interceptions and the top 8% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.
So, clearly one of the most important and influential members not just in West Ham’s squad but also competing in the English top-flight, and while United secured his services from Championship side Hull City for just £22m on deadline day in January 2020 (one month into Moyes’ reign), CIES Football Observatory’s valuation model marks his current worth at £51m – that’s quite the rise.
It would be quite something if there was a West Ham star actually worth more than the 27-year-old right now…
