Clinton Morrison feels Jarrod Bowen had already given Lyon plenty of warnings before the West Ham United winger scored in their Europa League tie, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Bowen broke the deadlock at the London Stadium on Thursday night with his 14th goal of the season so far. He has also been involved in a further 11 across all competitions over 41 appearances. No Hammers star has either scored or influenced more than the 25-year-old.
The Leominster-born dynamo opened the scoring in the quarter-final first-leg in midweek, despite the Irons playing with 10-men. Referee Felix Zwayer showed Aaron Cresswell a red card in first-half stoppage-time after denying Moussa Dembele a clear goalscoring chance.
Bowen put West Ham’s frustrations at Cresswell’s red to the side, though, to seize on Lyon defender Jerome Boateng’s error. The German failed to take control as the ball broke free in the box before the Irons ace jumped in and took a shot that looped over Anthony Lopes.
His effort flicked over the shot-stopper after Boateng attempted to atone for his error, but only deflected Bowen’s shot. Nonetheless, Morrison admired Bowen’s intelligence to score – as he has done throughout the season, to let Lyon know the threat the West Ham star is.
“Lyon give it away and Fornals does well,” he said. “But Boateng, I don’t know what he’s doing trying to dribble across his box. He’s not quick enough, and Jarrod Bowen does what Jarrod Bowen has been doing all season. He dinks it over the goalie – a fantastic finish.”
Morrison hails Bowen for ‘fantastic’ goals ‘all season’ after West Ham vs Lyon
Morrison continued in his praise of Bowen after scoring against Lyon and backed the West Ham star to force his way into contention for the England fold. The £22m ex-Hull City star is yet to represent his country at any level, despite his impressive efforts in east London.
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has tracked Bowen’s performances in claret-and-blue in view of a maiden call-up. But the attacker missed out on featuring in their March games after sustaining an ankle injury earlier in the month that he only returned from on Sunday.
“If not for his injury last month, I think Jarrod Bowen would have been in and around the last England squad for the goals that he’s scored this season,” Morrison added.
“I think the two friendlies would have been the perfect opportunity to see if he was ready to go into that environment. He missed out but all he can do is keep doing what he’s doing at West Ham, because Gareth Southgate does give players opportunities.”
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