Jarrod Bowen isn’t the answer for West Ham up front in the absence of Michail Antonio, according to former England international Paul Robinson (via Football Insider).
The Lowdown
The Hammers scraped a 2-1 win over Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup on Saturday. Both goals were scored in injury time as Declan Rice netted in the 91st minute, sending the game to extra time, before Bowen bagged the winner in the 121st minute.
Striker Antonio was absent for the clash due to his international commitments with Jamaica. When questioned over the situation after the game, David Moyes described the situation as “not good”.
It is not clear whether Antonio will be fully fit in time to start against Watford on Tuesday.
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The Latest
Speaking to Football Insider, Robinson, a regular on Sky Sports News, gave his assessment of West Ham in the absence of Antonio, claiming that Bowen isn’t the answer for the Irons up front. He said: “I know Moyes believes Jarrod Bowen can play there but when he does, they lose his creativity from wide areas. That’s the problem.
“It is similar to [Harry] Kane at Tottenham and [Patrick] Bamford at Leeds. The way West Ham play is pretty rigid with an out and out number nine.
“When Antonio doesn’t play, they miss him dearly. They didn’t address it in the transfer market. [Andriy] Yarmolenko plays there occasionally but he’s not the answer. I think it’s an area they are light in.
“Moyes will have to be very careful when the European games start coming. If Antonio is out for a length of time they will miss him.”
The Verdict
Despite this, Bowen is the Hammers’ top scorer in all competitions this season, having netted ten times. Antonio is close behind, totalling nine goals, however, he has done so in seven less games.
Although the Jamaica international has been crucial to Moyes’ campaign, there have been times when he has looked poor and susceptible to fitness issues. This is illustrated by the mid-season period where he failed to score in eight top flight games.
So, while losing Bowen’s influence off the flank may be an issue, he can certainly match the club’s record Premier League goalscorer for impetus up front.
West Ham had the opportunity to rectify this issue in January, but after failing to secure the £60million club record signing of Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, Moyes may have little choice but to ignore Robinson’s words of warning and continue with Bowen through the middle.
In other news: Dean Jones thinks Declan Rice will leave