It seems strange to think now following a hugely impressive Premier League campaign with West Ham and subsequent England call-up that Jarrod Bowen’s football career looked in danger of being over before it had even begun.
There are a few members of Gareth Southgate’s squad that looked destined for superstardom from the very beginning. There are some who won the World Cup with England at U17 level, others who were established Premier League players in their teens and in the case of Jude Bellingham, a player who commanded an eight-figure transfer fee by the age of 17.
That was certainly not the case for Bowen. There was no state-of-the-art academy schooling. No England call-up at any level until that one that arrived last week. No social media hype. Instead, there were humble beginnings in the Conference and a spate of rejections from Football League clubs. His journey to the top has certainly been untypical, or to paraphrase Southgate, “interesting”.
When Bowen broke into Hereford United’s first-team as a 17-year-old towards the end of a season in which they were relegated from the Conference Premier for financial reasons, a matter of months before going out of business, the prospect of one day playing for England didn’t seem particularly realistic.
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In Bowen’s words, it felt “a million miles away”. Speaking at England’s St George’s Park complex a day after joining up with the rest of the squad for this month’s Nations League fixtures, Bowen’s bright eyes and wide grin were giveaways to a 25-year-old realising an ambition that for a long time had looked out of reach.
“Sometimes I look back at where I’ve come from and especially being in an England camp now – not sounding big-headed – but I’ve got to take my hat off to myself for where I’ve come from to where I am now,” he admitted. “I was just playing for my local team week in and week out in the Conference.”
At one stage, even that looked to be in jeopardy. Hereford scrapped their youth team as a cost-cutting measure as the club’s bleak financial situation deteriorated and a failed trial with Cardiff City left Bowen in limbo. It wasn’t the first time that Bowen had experienced rejection – Aston Villa passed up on the chance to sign him when he was a boy – but with his hopes of becoming a professional seemingly hanging by a thread, it was the most painful.
Most goal contributions in the Premier League this season
- Mo Salah (Liverpool) – 36 (23 goals, 13 assists)
- Son Heung-min (Spurs) – 30 (23 goals, seven assists)
- Harry Kane (Spurs) – 26 (17 goals, nine assists)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) – 23 (15 goals, eight assists)
- Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) – 22 (12 goals, 10 assists)
“Hereford told me that their youth system was kind of finished so I went on trial to Cardiff for six weeks and I thought I’d done well,” he recalled.
“My Dad took the phone call and I could just tell it was bad news straight away. He told me they don’t you fancy either so I was kind of stuck with no Hereford, no Cardiff, no football so I was kind of chilling for about a month thinking “I don’t know what I’m going to do here, I’m in trouble”. At that time of Cardiff saying no that was a hard moment to take.”
There was no backup plan in place either. “I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he admits. “In school I wasn’t the brightest spark, I just wanted to play football, that was it.”
Fortunately, Bowen was re-registered by Hereford as a first-team player and as fate would have it, he forced his way into the first-team just before their implosion, catching the eye of Hull City in the process. He has since progressed with each step, from excelling in the Championship, to starring in the Premier League and Europa League to earning an England place.
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“I was just a massive fan, singing the national anthem and all the songs and jumping up and down when England scored,” Bowen recalls of the memorable 2-0 win last June. “Of course, I’ve thought about it [the World Cup] but this is my first camp and I want to show what I’m about and cement my place here.”
Bowen: Rice is the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League
Bowen’s adaptation to the England setup will have been helped by his relationships with West Ham teammate Declan Rice and former Hull City colleague Harry Maguire, who are stalwarts in Southgate’s squad.
Both Bowen and Rice were rewarded for their performances for David Moyes’ side last month, with the former scooping West Ham’s Players’ Player of the Year award and the latter named the Hammer of the Year.
And Bowen was full of praise for Rice, stating that he is the best player in his position in English football and insisting that he is improving with each season.
“I don’t think so,” Bowen replied when asked if there was a better defensive midfielder in the Premier League than the 23-year-old. “I think you look at Dec and I think he’s getting spoken about more now because people are starting to realise what he does and what he’s about.
“And this season he has just gone from strength to strength and he’s got everything you need.”
On speculation over Rice’s future, Bowen added: “I don’t see it as a distraction for Dec.
“I think it just goes to show the steps he’s made in the past probably two years since the Euros final. That Euros, Dec really shows what he’s about. I think people started to understand him a bit more and realise how good he is.
“I see it every day in training. I’ve seen how good he is, the Euros season and this season he’s really gone to another level.”
Bowen also reserved praise for Maguire, describing the Manchester United captain as his toughest opponent.
“I’ve always struggled against Big Harry because he’s so big!” he said. “I remember playing against him so many times, I was with him at Hull and it was the same in training. He was so big and just used to put his arm across me.”
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