English football fans cheered in unison as Ollie Watkins fired the Three Lions into their second successive European Championship final on Wednesday night.
Be it the fans of Aston Villa, Manchester City, Shrewsbury Town or West Ham United, England elicited a collective roar of delight, for here is the now tangible prospect of football immortalising itself on this island once again.
West Ham supporters know the taste of silverware, having won the Europa Conference League under David Moyes in 2023, but they will now be seeking more under Julen Lopetegui, who is working effectively with Tim Steidten to bolster the Irons squad ahead of the new era.
Signing a centre-forward is a pressing concern, with Villa Park the host of a top target. No, it's not Watkins, though efforts are being made to bring Jhon Duran to the capital this summer.
West Ham's interest in Jhon Duran
West Ham are desperate to sign a striker and have submitted an offer to Villa for striker Duran, aged 20, to enrich their frontline and bring some invaluable pace and power.
One of Unai Emery's first ports of call in the Midlands was to sign the Colombian, who transferred from Chicago Fire in the USA for £18m in January 2023.
He's not the finished product by any stretch but did score eight times across all competitions last term – a tally that included five Premier League goals despite being handed only three starting berths.
Lions captain John McGinn described the sinewy striker as a "nightmare for defenders", with his explosive and aggressive nature blending against an inborn finishing quality that speaks highly of his future at the top of the game.
Competing against the experience of Michail Antonio, who is now 34 years old but still proved his quality last year with seven goals from 21 Premier League starts, unable to make any more due to injury, Duran could prove to be an excellent addition.
Jarrod Bowen also held down the fort at centre-forward last season and did so with aplomb, but the versatile forward is best suited to life on the wing and must be placed there with the greatest regularity next term to maximise his qualities – of which there are many.
Why Jarrod Bowen is valued so highly
Bowen notched 20 goals across all competitions last season, adding ten assists and even being heralded by Brentford manager Thomas Frank, who gracefully praised his “unplayable" performance against the Bees, scoring a wonderful hat-trick.
1.
Jarrod Bowen
44
20
2.
Mohammed Kudus
45
14
3.
Tomas Soucek
52
10
4.
Lucas Paqueta
43
8
5.
Michail Antonio
32
7
5.
James Ward-Prowse
51
7
Clearly, the England international knows his way around a goal, and after starting as his team's striker for 22 of his 44 fixtures last season, it's unlikely that he will not find himself plying his trade at No. 9 at times under Lopetegui's wing.
Bowen, moreover, ranked among the top 7% of positional peers in the English top flight last year for non-penalty goals scored per 90, as per FBref, underscoring his calibre as an elite finisher.
It is, then, no surprise that the 27-year-old is West Ham's most valuable player by a considerable distance, with Football Transfers' player valuation model marking him with a £54m price tag. The Hammers' second-most valuable player is the electric Mohammed Kudus, who is marked at £41m.
Bowen is more valuable than Duran, who is indeed the subject of a £35m offer from West Ham and was actually close to signing for Chelsea in a £40m package earlier in the transfer window.
Such is Bowen's prowess that he's even tagged with a higher market valuation than the earlier-mentioned Watkins, who might be the talk of the town in England presently but comes in at a price of £46m.
This is all just a roundabout way of declaiming Bowen's abundant and vibrant quality. He's an industrious, intelligent and influential forward, wrapped into one unique style of play that has led the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle United to express a vested interest in signing him since the start of last season.
What a player. West Ham must count their lucky stars that Moyes decided to make one of his first moves upon his return to the club the capture of the young and aspiring winger, who signed from Hull City for £22m on deadline day in January 2020.
He's since completed 202 appearances for the club, scoring 60 goals and adding 39 assists. The talisman. It was Bowen who expertly latched onto Lucas Paqueta's threaded pass late on to win the Conference League, sending the Hammers into a frenzy of bliss.
Ultimately, if West Ham ever decided to cash in on their most prized asset, they'd undoubtedly fetch quite the pretty penny. In fact, a recent report commenting on Newcastle's ongoing interest in the winger suggests that the Irons might even obstinately demand a ballpark figure of £100m for his services, considering him alongside erstwhile midfield general Declan Rice, who Arsenal purchased for £105m one year ago.
He's a modern legend at West Ham, and you bet that his market price reflects the calibre of a truly exceptional player. So much has gone right at the outfit over recent years, combining to create the richest spell in its history, but without Bowen's addition at the start of Moyes' tenure, all of the success may well have been null and void.
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