The farmer's son from Leominster who ended West Ham's 43-year trophy drought
In the 90th minute of the 2023 Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina, Jarrod Bowen scored the goal that won West Ham their first trophy in 43 years. Nine years earlier he had been a teenage scholar at Hereford United, a club that was thrown out of the Conference weeks after his debut.
Bowen was born in Leominster, Herefordshire, in December 1996. His mother taught at his school and his father Sam farmed locally after a semi-professional career in which he scored five on his Merthyr Tydfil debut and hat-tricks on first appearances for Forest Green and Worcester, earning the tag debut king. Sam once had a trial at West Ham under Harry Redknapp, but Merthyr's asking terms killed the move. Jarrod joined Leominster Minors at four, failed trials at Aston Villa and Cardiff, and debuted for Hereford at 17 in March 2014.
When Hereford were expelled in June 2014, Hull City signed him for nothing. He took two years to reach the first team, then became its main scorer, leading the club with 15 goals in 2017–18 and 22 the season after, sweeping the club's player awards both times. He left with 54 goals from 131 games.
West Ham paid a reported £22 million in January 2020. In 2021–22 he became the first Hammer since Dimitri Payet to reach ten goals and ten assists in one season, and he topped the club's scoring charts with 18. After the Prague final winner came a record streak of scoring in six successive Premier League away games, beating a run shared by Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, and the first Premier League hat-trick by a West Ham player at the London Stadium. He was named captain in August 2024 and in January 2026 passed Michail Antonio's club record for goal involvements, though West Ham were relegated that May.
For England, he debuted against Hungary in June 2022, missed the World Cup squad that winter, and went to Euro 2024, where England finished runners-up. His first international goal, against the Republic of Ireland, came three seconds after the ball went into play.
Source: Jarrod Bowen
