West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen has delivered the most definitive clue yet on his future with the club beyond this season.
West Ham and Jarrod Bowen have been a match made in heaven since he joined the club six years ago for a bargain £20m.
Bowen and the Hammers have lived the dream, setting the club’s record Premier League points total, securing European football three seasons in a row and winning the only major trophy of the last 46 years.
While the likes of Declan Rice and now Lucas Paqueta have pushed to leave, Bowen has remained the one constant at West Ham – carrying the club on his back for the last two years.
But the weight of that has finally told this season with the Hammers staring the threat of relegation in the face.
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One of the saddest things about West Ham’s possible demotion to the Championship is Bowen.
The captain is already a West Ham legend but is agonisingly close to becoming the club’s leading Premier League goalscorer too.
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There is every chance Bowen could manage that achievement this season.
But whether West Ham’s 29-year-old Prague hero can be true to his intention to retire at the club remains to be seen.
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When Bowen signed a new seven-year deal – with the option for an eighth year – back in October 2023 he stated he wanted to retire at West Ham.
Bowen has repeated that on several occasions since.
West Ham have rebuffed speculative enquiries from the likes of Spurs over the last couple of seasons.
The fact the Hammers could go down has brought Bowen’s future back into the spotlight, though.
Especially since a close ally of David Sullivan said Bowen will be sold if West Ham drop.
Bowen drops biggest hint yet on West Ham future
Many point to the fact Bowen is the son-in-law of celebrity West Ham fanatic Danny Dyer as one of the key reasons he will never leave the club.
But what does the man himself think?
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Now Bowen has dropped the biggest hint yet on whether he’ll leave West Ham in summer.
Bowen’s comments appear to address persistent speculation he will leave in the summer if West Ham are relegated.
Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
And if he wasn’t a West Ham legend already, he certainly will be now.
Because Bowen appears to have committed his long-term future to West Ham.
Amid fears he could leave the Hammers at the end of the season, Bowen has said he wants to get to 500 games for West Ham.
“I’ve been here six years in January and it’s been, yeah, it’s been crazy,” Bowen told West Ham TV.
“Lots of highs, lots of lows, but honestly loved every single minute of it.
Bowen wants to get to 500 games for West Ham
“And, you know, hopefully there’s many more many more games to come.
“Getting to 500 (appearances) would be something, but I’m trying to do the maths of how old I’ve got to be to figure it all out, you know?
“We’ll see how the legs hold up over the next seven years or so.”
Bowen has made 263 appearances for the Hammers.
So he would need to stay and play for at least another six years in order to reach the 500-game target Bowen has set himself.
And that can only be good news for West Ham when it comes to the future of their talisman.
It comes after Bowen became the club’s biggest goal contributor in Premier League history, surpassing Michail Antonio’s record of 101 goals and assists with a goal and assist himself in the win over Sunderland.
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