Premier League side Newcastle United have reportedly joined Liverpool in the pursuit of West Ham United forward Jarrod Bowen.
According to 90min, Newcastle United have joined the race to sign West Ham United attacker Jarrod Bowen in the summer. Liverpool are long-term admirers of the Englishman, but the Magpies are ready to battle it out for the 25-year-old.
Bowen moved to West Ham United in the 2020 January transfer window after scoring 16 goals for Hull City in the first half of the Championship season. He formed an integral part of David Moyes’s West Ham side that finished sixth in the Premier League last season, scoring eight and assisting five goals in 38 league matches.
Bowen has taken a step up this season, and has already scored nine and assisted 10 goals in 29 Premier League matches for the club. He hasn’t been fazed by European football as well, scoring twice in the Europa League this season as the Hammers have made it to the quarter-finals.
Bowen’s return of 19 goal contributions is the highest of any English player in the Premier League this season and a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad doesn’t look far. His superlative form this season has forced other top-flight clubs to take notice with Liverpool and Newcastle showing special interest.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are stacked in the attacking department, following the January signing of Luis Diaz. But all three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have their contracts expiring at the end of next season. While the Reds are focused on offering new contracts to their star forwards, they are also preparing for life without them.
Bowen has emerged as a possible option for Liverpool, who are also targeting Benfica’s Darwin Nunez this summer. But they will have to battle it out with newly-minted Newcastle United.
The Magpies are preparing for a big summer window under their new owners. Attack is an area where Newcastle are planning to invest heavily, considering their overreliance on Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson. In addition, there are doubts over the future of Saint-Maximin, with the club open to a sale amid interest from Aston Villa. Bowen, thus, would be a viable target for Newcastle.
However, signing Bowen will not be an easy task as West Ham look set for another season in European football, something that the Magpies cannot offer. Liverpool, too, could find it tricky to convince the Englishman, as he would have to play second-fiddle to the current first-choice attacking trio.
