West Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers were keen on the Hull City starlet.
Jarrod Bowen of Hull City (left)
Seven games, five goals and an EFL Young Player of the Month award, there’s a case for suggesting Hull City’s Jarrod Bowen is the find of the Championship season so far. But the Shropshire native could have easily been strutting his stuff somewhere more local than Hull, who fought off competition from West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign him in 2014.
Bowen told BBC Hereford & Worcester upon signing for the Tigers: “West Brom came to talk to me and I went up to Wolves too, but Hull stood out for me.
Jarrod Bowen (left) of Hull City
“They’re a Premier League club on the up. It’s a massive opportunity for me and I’ve just got to go up there and try to take my chance.”
Ironically, it’s taken relegation to the Championship – Hull’s second in three seasons – for Bowen to get his breakthrough.
And it remains to be seen, of course, if the 20-year-old would have gotten similar opportunities at West Brom or Wolves, with Hull suffering a mass exodus of talent during the summer transfer window.
Aston Villa’s Villa Park ground
Besides, as a boyhood supporter of the pair’s West Midlands rivals Aston Villa – the opposition against whom he scored his first goal for Hull – a move to a club outside of the region may have been the best thing for him.
Will West Brom/Wolves live to regret being snubbed by Bowen three years ago?
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