Back in January, West Ham made a marquee signing in the shape of Jarrod Bowen.
The former Hereford attacker had consistently shone for Hull to make a name for himself as one of the deadliest forwards outside of the Premier League – he has been involved in more league goals than any other player in the Championship since the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
However, if he is to continue this form at the London Stadium, David Moyes has a huge hurdle to overcome.
What is it?
Seeing as Bowen has made 21 appearances on the right flank this season, whoever is playing at right-back behind him will obviously be of some significance.
In the Hammers’ current situation, both of their options in that department are weak.
With Ryan Fredericks out injured, Moyes has the ageing Pablo Zabaleta and also the contrastingly inexperienced Jeremy Ngakia to choose from, both of whom come with their deficiencies.
In Zabaleta’s case, the former Manchester City man is lacking pace – to say the least – which can make him vulnerable against rapid wingers.
On the other hand, while Ngakia is younger, fresher and quicker than the Argentine, he lacks experience at the top level which means he will surely need help from whoever is on the right flank in front of him – the 19-year-old has made only two senior appearances.
Bowen needs to focus on scoring
It seems ridiculous to splash over £20m on a prolific forward, only to make him have to focus on defending.
In West Ham’s current scenario – they are 18th in the Premier League – they need someone to score them goals to win precious points. Seeing as Sebastien Haller is the club’s top scorer with a mere six goals, someone really does need to step up and take the goalscoring responsibility into their own hands, with Bowen the obvious candidate.
Moyes must overcome the hurdle that is finding a dependable right-back option who can hold that position down almost single-handedly, so Bowen can solely focus on what he was signed to do – score goals.
What could’ve been… Can you name the clubs these football legends almost joined?
In other news, a journalist has revealed who he thinks cost West Ham at Anfield…
