West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has insisted it was a ‘no brainer’ for him to commit his future to the club as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.
Daily Mail Sport reported earlier this month that the Hammers were confident Bowen would stay despite their relegation to the Championship.
There had been a swirl of interest in the 29-year-old England international since relegation with Everton, Newcastle and Aston Villa emerging as the most likely buyers but without making a firm offer.
Bowen revealed that he had received assurances over the direction of the club under Daniel Kretinsky, who is poised to become the club’s largest shareholder.
The attacker travelled to the Czech Republic to speak to Kretinsky and his right-hand man Jiri Svarc, a West Ham board member.
‘I flew out to Prague in the Czech Republic to meet Daniel and Jiri and the ambition that I got from them, certainly in terms of the direction the Club wants to move in, it interests me a lot. It didn’t take a lot for me, because this Club means a lot to me,’ Bowen said.
Jarrod Bowen has committed his future to West Ham despite their relegation to the Championship
Bowen revealed he had travelled to the Czech Republic to speak to Daniel Kretinsky, who outlined West Ham’s director moving forwards
‘I did an interview after the [Leeds United] 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.
Bowen joined West Ham from Hull City in January 2020 for £22million and his place in the club’s history was already assured with 85 goals in 280 appearances in six and a half years including the 90th minute winner in the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in 2023.
Bowen stressed that he will look to set the standards at the club to help drive West Ham to securing a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
‘The Championship is not an easy division. We’ve seen that in recent years. I was part of the Championship side many years ago now, but it’s not easy. It’s 46 games, tough games, midweek, Saturday, Tuesday, Friday,’ Bowen added.
‘It’s a long, long season, the Championship. You can never get too high, never get too low, because there’s a lot of things that can happen but certainly, in terms of mentality, in terms of attitude, those are the things that we’re going to need.
‘We’re going to need a real tight-knit, a real togetherness, a real understanding of what we want from each other.
The West Ham captain stressed he would be looking to drive standards as the club seeks an immediate return to the Premier League
‘My role is captain here. I know people look to me to set those standards and that’s all I try to do every single day. That’s what’s expected of me and I’ll be the voice and demand those standards and that every single player put in the hard yards and hard work every single day. That’s how it should be.’
Bowen is married to Dani Dyer, daughter of actor and avid Hammers fan Danny Dyer.
Dyer had hinted that Bowen was likely to stay when he told talkSPORT earlier this month that he would ‘rip up the Championship.’
Bowen’s decision to commit his future to the club is a major boost for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side ahead of new season, which will begin with a Carabao Cup tie against Portsmouth on August 8.
The financial pressure on West Ham, which could have contributed to a sale, was eased by the £85million sale of Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham.
