The ‘Jarrod Bowen for England’ mafia were out in full force on Wednesday as the West Ham winger stole the show in his side’s 2-0 victory over Norwich City.
Bowen very nearly opened the scoring after just a couple of minutes, with Tim Krul needing two bites of the cherry to keep a fierce strike out.
Norwich slowly grew into the game, but West Ham did their best to suck the life out of the Canaries and Bowen was at the heart of everything positive from David Moyes’ side. Whether he was creating chances or receiving them, he was everywhere.
A late offside call denied Bowen a goal with ten minutes to go in the first half, but the winger was adamant that he wouldn’t be going into the interval empty handed and headed home the opener with few minutes to go.
He ghosted into the box and delicately flicked his header into the far corner to give West Ham, and Bowen, the lead they deserved.
After the break, VAR denied Nikola Vlasic a penalty following a tangle of legs with Max Aarons, but West Ham didn’t care as they just tore forwards at Norwich with relentless intent.
Bowen struck the bar with a lovely dink when he really should have scored, before striking Krul’s post shortly after the hour mark with a strike from a tight angle.
Norwich struck the woodwork themselves soon after, with Adam Idah taking advantage of a rare sloppy moment from Bowen to wrestle possession and unleash an unreal strike which very nearly brought this game back to life.
With seven minutes to go, however, Bowen killed it off.
He was initially denied by the offside flag, but VAR stepped in to confirm that his tap-in was actually onside… just.
Eight goals and eight assists for Bowen this season. No English player in the Premier League has managed more. Are you watching, Gareth Southgate?