Their best signing since Bowen: West Ham in the race to land £12m EFL star
da mrbet： Fair to say, it has been a very forgettable season for West Ham United.
da aposte e ganhe： The Hammers are currently 15th in the table, a major downturn following three top-half finishes in four years, while they’ve enjoyed just five home wins, their lowest tally since being relegated in 2010/11.
The Irons could improve that tally in their final home match of the season on Sunday, welcoming Nottingham Forest to East London, although, having won only four of 16 Premier League matches under Graham Potter, confidence is unlikely to be sky-high.
Thus, a big summer is ahead for the Hammers and, if they’re going to start contending for European spots once again, their recent recruitment record needs to improve.
Jarrod Bowen's West Ham career
While many of West Ham’s recent big-money signings have turned out to be massive flops, the reported £22m paid to sign Jarrod Bowen from Hull City in January 2020 has proved to be an absolute bargain.
Now the club captain, he has scored 72 goals and provided 50 assists in 236 appearances for the Hammers, including the historic late winner against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League Final, securing the club’s first trophy for 43 years.
So, let’s assess how he compares to West Ham’s other big-money signings of the London Stadium era.
West Ham signings £20+ (2016-present)
Players
Fee
Appearances
Max Kilman
£40m
39
Crysencio Summerville
£25m
22
Niclas Füllkrug
£27m
18
Luis Guilherme
£25m
12
Edson Álvarez
£35m
71
James Ward-Prowse
£30m
65
Mohammed Kudus
£38m
78
Lucas Paquetá
£50m
118
Gianluca Scamacca
£30m
27
Nayef Aguerd
£30m
58
Kurt Zouma
£30m
103
Nikola Vlašić
£33m
31
Saïd Benrahma
£30m
155
Sébastien Haller
£45m
54
Pablo Fornals
£24m
203
Jarrod Bowen
£22m
236
Issa Diop
£22m
121
Felipe Anderson
£36m
73
Marko Arnautović
£20m
65
André Ayew
£20.5m
50
All statistics and information courtesy of Transfermarkt
What the table above highlights, first and foremost, is that West Ham have spent, and arguably wasted, an absolute mountain of money since relocating to the London Stadium almost a decade ago.
A few players on that list, namely Kurt Zouma, Pablo Fornals, and Saïd Benrahma did establish themselves as stalwarts, while others have been mercurial talents without ever really getting it all together; looking at you, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paquetá, Felipe Anderson, and others.
That’s not to mention the complete flops, who we won’t name, and let you make up your own mind!
Nevertheless, Bowen has been, indisputably, West Ham’s best signing of the modern era, so should the Irons go shopping in the EFL Championship again, as they search for their next gem?
West Ham chasing a new centre-back
According to a recent report by Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian, West Ham are ‘continuing’ to pursue a deal to sign Burnley central defender CJ Egan-Riley.
It has been widely reported, including by L’Équipe, that the 22-year-old is close to joining Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who are owned by Todd Boehly’s company BlueCo, and his current market value is estimated to be around £12m, according to Transfermarkt.
Nevertheless, West Ham are still very much in the running to sign the centre-back who Graeme Bailey of TBR Football describes as a “brilliant young defender”, while Andy Bayes of BBC Sport outlines that he, alongside partner Maxime Estève, has played a ‘key role’ in Burnley’s promotion.
So, let’s assess how Egan-Riley compares to West Ham’s current selection of centre-backs this season.
CJ Egan-Riley vs West Ham centre-backs 2024/25
Statistics
CJ
Egan-Riley
Jean-Clair
Todibo
Max
Kilman
Konstantinos
Mavropanos
Appearances
43
27
39
34
Minutes
3,705
1,788
3,439
2,077
Tackles
60
41
36
33
Tackles won
42
26
23
39
Interceptions
36
23
42
50
Clearances
199
72
202
118
Blocks
39
24
56
24
Errors leading to a shot
2
3
5
1
Ball recoveries
185
70
143
70
% of aerials duels won
49.3%
48.9%
67.3%
70%
Pass completion %
86.2%
87.7%
86.5%
85.9%
Touches per 90
79
58
58
50
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt
As the table outlines, Konstantinos Mavropanos has been West Ham’s best-performing centre-back this season, but Egan-Riley certainly compares favourably to the existing trio.
The Burnley youngster ranks first when it comes to tackles and ball recoveries, while many of his other statistics are more than comparable, while admitting he’s played the most minutes, and is operating at a lower level in the Championship, of course.
Nevertheless, the available evidence suggests he would be an excellent addition for the Hammers, if they’re able to beat Strasbourg to his services, and that is why he could be the best signing since Bowen because, at the age of 22, he could be a star for the club for many, many, years to come.
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