Last season’s Hammer of the Year has touched down in Tampa and he has spoken of his excitement about getting back in action ahead of the 24/25 season.
Jarrod Bowen landed in Florida on Thirsday ahead of the Irons’ final picture of the pre-season tour of the sunshine state. Bowen had a very exciting summer, he reached the final of the Euros with England and got engaged to celebrity West Ham fan Dani Dyer.
New arrivals Bowen and Alphonse Areola trained at he Tampa Bay Rowdies facility on Friday morning after speaking to CBS media. Bowen told CBS: ”
“I’ve been away in Ibiza and Portugal with the family, with the kids, since the Euros, so I’ve had a break and it was nice to switch off from football.
“I’m excited to start working on the training pitch with the new Head Coach [Julen Lopetegui] as all the lads have spoken really highly of him and are excited for the new season to start as they’ve learnt a lot in training and learnt a lot in the games.
“Always when a new manager comes in there are new ideas and it’s buying into those ideas and putting them into practice and into games, and we’ve got one coming up on Saturday!”
Bowen is unlikely to play many minutes if any against Crystal Place due to his lack of training since returning from the European Championships. However, he was happy that the club now play pre-season friendlies against other Premier League teams as they are slightly more competitive.
“I think this is the way. Of course, at the start of pre-season, you’ve just had a few weeks off, so the games are going to be difficult [fitness-wise], but once you’ve got your feet into pre-season and you’re playing teams that you’re going to be playing in the Premier League, it’s a really good test.
“Of course, pre-season is pre-season and you can’t judge off pre-season, but one thing about pre-season is that you’re learning as well. It’s not do-or-die if you lose a game, but it’s good practice to go into the season knowing the teams you’re playing against are giving you good challenges ahead of the season. It’s a good test for when we start the Premier League.”
West Ham fans are incredibly buzzing to have their star man back, after worries about him leaving earlier in the window, especially when Mohammed Salah was being linked with a move away from Liverpool. However, everyone knows Bowen is very very happy in East London and has a huge contract until 2030.
Bowen could take his game uo yet another level this season with the attacking talent set to join the club. Crysensio Summerville will join to play on the left wing, the club are also closing in on a deal to bring Niclas Fullkrug to the club which could help bring up Bowen’s already brilliant creative numbers.
