Surprise Jarrod Bowen twist has caused West Ham a big problem

Jarrod Bowen is undoubtedly West Ham United’s most important player.

Whilst Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus might be more technically gifted, Jarrod Bowen is the most influential player at West Ham.

West Ham ace Jarrod Bowen admitted last week that he wants to stay with us for the rest of his career, and that was so good for the fans to hear.

The Hammers signed Bowen, 27, from Hull City in January 2020 for around £20 million, and he has since established himself as a vitally important player for us.

Bowen has bagged 62 goals and 40 assists in 210 games in all competitions for West Ham, and he rarely lets us down.

The England international is always fit and available, bar the odd injury here and there that he has picked up over the past four-and-a-half years.

In spite of all his good points, Bowen is definitely not at his best when deployed through the middle as an auxiliary centre-forward.

Julen Lopetegui must stick to using him as a right winger – surely he realises that now.

The Spaniard has made another big mistake with Jarrod though, and it has caused a major problem with the 27-year-old that needs to be addressed.

Surprise Jarrod Bowen twist has caused West Ham a big problem

The left-footed right winger is a huge fan favourite at the London Stadium.

The main reason he is so greatly adored by the Hammers faithful is his commitment to the cause, and the effort that he puts in every single game.

However, as good as Bowen is, there is one area where he’s severely lacking as far as I’m concerned.

The former Hull City is many things but one thing he’s not is a natural leader.

He barely talks on the pitch and is never in the referee’s ear. In fact, he’s very much an introvert on the pitch, and he just doesn’t seem to be captain material one little bit to me.

That makes the surprise decision to name him the new club captain in the summer an extremely surprising one.

And it is causing the Hammers big problems now.

I believe that Lopetegui should have opted for Max Kilman to be the new captain instead of Bowen.

He had the armband at Wolves and has proven that he is a real leader both on the pitch with his performances, and off it with the way that he conducts himself.

Captaincy affecting Bowen’s form?

It’s been clear to see that Bowen has been nowhere near his best so far this season.

He has bagged just two goals and one assist in eight games in all competitions for the Hammers this term.

In my opinion, he hasn’t quite been at the races so far, that has been obvious to see.

Jarrod Bowen has been a yard off with everything he has done for West Ham this season, and seems to be lacking focus at crucial times.

Perhaps the added responsibility of being captain is weighing heavily on his mind.

That’s obviously pure speculation, but it’s exactly what it seems like to me.

Maybe Lopetegui should sit him down and have a chat with him about the situation. If he’s not up to it, or doesn’t fancy wearing the armband, it would be better to make a change now.