West Ham battling PL rivals for “explosive” £30m talent

While the last few seasons haven’t exactly gone to plan for West Ham United, there is still plenty of talent in their squad.

However, it would be fair to say that we all know just who the Hammers’ most important player is: Jarrod Bowen.

The England international is undoubtedly one of the most underrated players in the entire Premier League, and has a sensational tally of 125 goal involvements in 238 games to prove it.

So, even though this window hasn’t been the most exciting, fans should be excited about reports linking the Irons to an up-and-coming talent who could be Graham Potter’s new Bowen.

West Ham target their new Bowen

It’s been an interesting summer window for West Ham so far, as while the signing of Callum Wilson is more than a little underwhelming, and the links to Raheem Sterling concerning, the club have made a few smart additions.

For example, Kyle Walker-Peters on a free will undoubtedly strengthen Potter’s defensive unit, while there is plenty of upside for the combative El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Moreover, the East Londoners don’t appear done just yet, as they’re now honing in on a young attacker who could be the next Bowen.

At least that is according to a recent report from journalist David Lynch, who claims West Ham are one of several sides interested in Ben Doak.

Lynch has revealed that Wolverhampton Wanderers are also keen to sign the Liverpool youngster, and that offers of £20m were rejected from Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town in the winter window.

It appears as if the Reds will also reject such offers this summer, as according to Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph, they value the 19-year-old at around £30m.

It could be a complicated and somewhat costly transfer to get over the line, but Doak could well be worth it, especially as he could become Potter’s new Bowen.

Why Doak could be the new Bowen

So, the first thing to say is that we are not claiming that Doak is as good as Bowen at the moment, or that he is even likely to get close in the next season or two.

That would be absurd and far too much pressure to place on a teenager, as the Irons star is currently one of the best attackers in the league and will likely remain so for some time.

However, some undeniable aspects of this potential deal suggest the Liverpool gem could potentially develop into someone who could take over from the Englishman at some point in the future.

The first is the fact that the Irons would be signing the Dalry-born gem after an impressive spell in the Championship.

For example, the Reds sent the Scottish gem on loan to Middlesbrough last season, and when he wasn’t out with a hamstring injury, he looked every part the future star.

In 24 appearances, totalling 1789 minutes, the “explosive” ace, as dubbed by Danny Murphy, scored three goals and provided seven assists.

In other words, he was able to average a goal involvement every 2.4 games, or every 178.9 minutes, which is made more impressive considering it was his first full season of senior football.

On top of his ability in the second tier, the 5 foot 9 dynamo is also primarily a right-winger, but has shown an ability to occasionally play off the left or up top.

Finally, as well as his output, the promising youngster put up some seriously impressive underlying numbers in the Championship last season.

According to FBref, he was in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the next best 14 competitions for carries into the penalty area, the top 2% for progressive carries and the top 5% for non-penalty expected goals per shot.

Those numbers paint the picture of a player capable of getting the ball into dangerous areas and then making the most of the moment – sound like anyone familiar?

Ultimately, fans shouldn’t expect Doak to be a regular starter next season, but just as Bowen developed into a superstar over time, we see no reason why the young Scotsman couldn’t do the same at West Ham.