It was Jarrod Bowen who netted the dramatic last-minute winner for West Ham against Fiorentina on that memorable night of European glory in June 2023 to etch his name into the club’s history books.
And Bowen committing his future to the club is perhaps better than any summer signing West Ham could have made.
Bowen has been the club’s top goalscorer in four of the past five seasons, netting 76 times in 227 games in all competitions.
He has also provided 53 assists and signalled his intent for the current campaign in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Portsmouth in the EFL Cup, scoring one and setting up another.
An England international, a player of his pedigree could prove invaluable.
“It was a no-brainer for me to be here and the vision is clear,” said Bowen after confirming he would stay at the London Stadium. “It’s the Premier League.”
But the 29-year-old is fully aware of the challenge the Championship provides.
“It’s 46 tough games, midweek, Saturday, Tuesday, Friday,” Bowen said.
“There’s going to be disappointment at times, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on us to go and win the league straight away.
“That’s our aim, but I’m telling you now, it’s not going to be as easy as that.”
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo agrees.
“Normally when a team drops to the Championship, you have to be the favourite, mainly because our objective is to go back to the Premier League,” the 52-year-old told BBC Radio London.
“We realise how hard it’s going to be. We’re going to have to be resilient, to keep going.
“Tight schedule, very tough competition, a lot of good teams with the same aspirations as ourselves.
“But we are ready for the challenge.”
