Jarrod Bowen is excited going into his second season as West Ham captain, and has dreams of lifting the FA Cup with the club he loves. 

The 28-year-old has been looking back at what he’s achieved at the club so far, and how much he’s fallen in love with the Hammers. “This Club means everything to me,” he revealed. “I’ve been here for nearly six years now. I feel like I’ve grown as a person. I think my football has grown as well. We’ve enjoyed some really, really good moments together as well. So, I think West Ham for me is just everything I know.

“I think just the loyalty, the love that you get, even when things aren’t going well, that makes it such a special Club. The fans stick with you every single moment. And I think, for me, that’s one of the best things that we have. If you can go through those tough times together, when those good times come, which we’ve had, you appreciate them a lot more.”

Bowen has had many great moments since joining the club from Hull City in January 2020, including receiving his first England call-up. But it was the moment that will live in every West Ham fan’s memory forever that tops the list of his favourite moments.

“Winning the European final over in Prague was obviously my favourite moment so far. I felt probably every single emotion that you could think of. Tears, tears of joy, happiness, a relief almost. The game went how it did [with us going 1-0 up, then Fiorentina equalising], and to score in the last minute, and then the final whistle blowing, that was a relieving moment.

“I think, like I said, when those good moments come, it’s important that you stick together through the bad times as well because that moment that we had, I think you saw the celebrations on the pitch with the fans and when we held the parade, it was something really incredible.”

This Saturday, the new Premier League season gets underway, and he and his team will try to make new memories. Jarrod Bowen has one special goal in mind for the new campaign.

“I’ve got one thing that I’d love to do here at the Club and that is I’d love to win the FA Cup!” he smiled. “Growing up, watching football, it’s the most prestigious cup competition and there have been some brilliant stories through the years.

“To see Crystal Palace win it last year and what it means for them as a club and the fans, with the celebrations they had, I really enjoyed seeing it because it was a moment for them that they might not have expected to happen.

“So I think, obviously I’d love to win the Premier League and play in the Champions League, but something that I’d love to do this season is win the FA Cup!”