Over the past few years, Michail Antonio has been West Ham’s go-to central striker, featuring at the top end of the pitch in the hope of providing needed goals for the club.
The Jamaican has featured 311 times for the Hammers, scoring 82 times – becoming the club’s leading Premier League goalscorer in the process.
However, with Antonio now 34, he’s edging towards the tail end of his professional career, with the club making moves in the transfer window to try and seek a replacement for the former Nottingham Forest ace.
Julen Lopetegui wasted no time in bolstering his forward line over the summer, signing German striker Niclas Füllkrug from Borussia Dortmund in a £27m deal.
The Spaniard will be hoping that Fullkrug can form an excellent partnership with one player who was already plying his trade at the London Stadium before his arrival during the off-season.
Jarrod Bowen’s time at West Ham
After joining West Ham for a fee in the region of £20m during the January transfer window in 2020, winger Jarrod Bowen arrived at the club with high hopes after his impressive stint with Hull City that saw him register 16 goals in the first half of the campaign.
He’s since transformed into a world-class player at the London Stadium, bagging 62 times in his 206 appearances for the club.
Arguably, his best moment in the club’s colours came in the Europa Conference League final victory over Fiorentina back in 2022/23 – scoring the winning goal, ending the club’s 58-year wait for a major European title.
The 27-year-old was subsequently rewarded with a new seven-year contract at the London Stadium, taking his stay until the summer of 2030 at least.
Despite his impressive goalscoring record during his East London venture, the attacker has remarkably been outscored by one player who was prematurely sold at the London Stadium.
The man to outscore Bowen after leaving West Ham
That man is Ivorian striker Sebastian Haller who arrived at the club with huge expectations after his mammoth £45m move from Eintracht Frankfurt – a deal that broke the club’s record at the time.
However, his time in the Premier League was a struggle, scoring just 14 times in his 54 appearances – with the club paying £3.2m for every goal he scored during his time with the Hammers.
Haller subsequently left the club for £20m joining Dutch side Ajax just 18 months after his big-money move to England, with former boss David Moyes prematurely selling the talent.
However, since his move away from the London Stadium, the 30-year-old has recaptured his goalscoring form, outscoring current star Bowen in the process.
The striker has bagged 59 goals in all competitions since his move away from London, with Bowen only one behind – registering 58 goals for the Hammers since January 2021.
How Haller & Bowen compare for goals since 2020/21 | ||
|---|---|---|
Season | Haller | Bowen |
2020/21 | 13 | 5 |
2021/22 | 34 | 18 |
2022/23 | 9 | 13 |
2023/24 | 3 | 20 |
2024/25 | 0 | 2 |
Total: | 59 | 58 |
Stats via Transfermarkt | ||
Whilst there’s no denying that at times during his spell at the club, Haller looked out of his depth in England, he still produced moments of magic along the way whilst he was settling into life at the club, potentially thriving under the guidance of new boss Lopetegui.
His goalscoring record away from the London Stadium is evidence that he has the talent to flourish if given the opportunity, with the club potentially living to regret the decision to offload the Ivorian.
