Less than a year ago, Jarrod Bowen was jumping up and down inside Wembley, belting out Sweet Caroline and cheering on England against Germany. And barely a soul amongst the 45,000 crowd recognised the West Ham star.
“I signed a couple of autographs outside but that was it,” said Bowen. “I was with a few of my mates and the atmosphere was incredible. With it being the knockout stages and against Germany made it even better. That game was really good.
“I loved all of them (the players) as I was watching. Being a footballer you love football and you love supporting your country and I was just a massive fan, singing the national anthem and all the songs and just jumping up and down when England scored. It was a bit mad looking back at it.”
Even madder is that just over 11 months on from that Euro 2020 knockout match, Bowen is hoping to play against Germany in Munich next Tuesday and against Hungary this Saturday. And when he makes his international debut, it will be a triumph of persistence for a player who was nowhere near a professional career when he was 17 years of age.
He explains: “I was at Hereford and they told me the youth system was finished so I went on trial to Cardiff for six weeks and I thought I had done well.
“But my dad took the phone call and I could just tell that it was bad news straight away. He said they didn't fancy me either. Then I was stuck - no Hereford, no Cardiff, no football.
“So I was thinking I don't know what I am going to do, I am in trouble, but then you get a bit of luck in football and the Hereford youth team started back up, luckily for me.”
And after Hereford were expelled from the Conference in June, 2014, Bowen was taken on by Hull City and has gone from strength to strength, being voted West Ham’s Player of the Season for 2021-22 by his team-mates. He says: “That was a special award to win, coming from those especially coming you train and play with for nine months.
“For them to see my quality and think I was worthy of being their player of the season was special. We have a really special group and that brings the best out of me as well.”
And the best of Bowen, 25, has got him into the England squad, made him one of the Premier League ’s hottest properties … and he even has a celebrity partner in Dani Dyer, ex-Love Island star and daughter of Eastenders actor Danny, a massive Hammers fan. But contrary to rumours, he has not got another big day lined up.
“No, people thought I was engaged but I don’t know where that came from,” he smiles. That will, no doubt, come but, for now, Bowen will be celebrating one of the more unlikely England journeys.
