West Ham have “exciting kid” who could be Lopetegui’s next Jarrod Bowen

Former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie has heaped praise on an “exciting kid” at the club, and suggests that he could even be their next Jarrod Bowen.

Lopetegui under pressure after poor West Ham start

New manager Julen Lopetegui has big shoes to fill after David Moyes, who guided the Hammers to their first major trophy in decades and successive campaigns in Europe, having taken over when they were fighting for their Premier League status in 2019.

The Hammers have won just two games in all competitions since Lopetegui took charge – a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace in the league and a 1-0 cup victory at home to Bournemouth – and West Ham’s expensively-assembled new-look squad suggests they should be doing much better.

Lopetegui was backed with a near-£120 million summer spend on nine new signings, but they’ve failed to record a single win since late August and pressure is mounting on the Spaniard.

West Ham have been criticised for their showings in both an attacking and defensive sense, with Sky Sports reporter Ron Walker saying that much more should be expected of this quality side on paper.

“When you’re in a bad run of form and you concede with 41 seconds on the clock, you fear the worst. In that context, the way West Ham bounced back to earn a point at Brentford is a positive,” said the journalist.

“But that’s still as good as it gets. For a team with the depth and quality of this Hammers side, the lack of memorable moments they produced is still a concern. The Hammers’ defending has been a major cause for concern but their attacking return is an even greater worry when Julen Lopetegui was tasked with delivering a more expansive style.

“That will take time but with an expected goals tally lower than Southampton despite Lucas Paqueta, Mohamed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen featuring in every game, even their individual quality should be enough to produce more than this.”

Frank McAvennie compares Crysencio Summerville to Jarrod Bowen

West Ham, and especially the under-fire Lopetegui, will need all the help they can get to turn this form around.

Over the summer, West Ham agreed a £25 million-plus deal for winger Crysencio Summerville, and he is yet to get off the mark over his seven appearances in all competitions.

The Dutchman comes with plenty of promise, though, having scored 20 goals with a further nine assists in the Championship for Leeds last season. The winger could be pivotal to adding that extra bit of dynamism to West Ham’s attack, and he could follow a similar path to Bowen given his London Stadium switch from the second tier.

Indeed, McAvennie suggests Summerville could be West Ham’s new Bowen, and adds that the attacker “hasn’t had much help recently” in a glowing endorsement of the 22-year-old.

“I think he’s been bright, always looking to get at his opponent,” said McAvennie to West Ham Zone.

“The more he plays, the better. Jarrod Bowen came from Hull City, and it took him a few games but David Moyes believed in him.

“That’s what is going to happen with this guy. He’s another young, exciting kid, who has no fears. I like that. He goes to get the ball and he doesn’t care about who they’re playing. He just hasn’t had much help recently.”