Jarrod Bowen says Footballer of the Year, Mohamed Salah, sets the standard which he looks up to when it comes to inspiration for his own career.
The West Ham United forward has enjoyed a fruitful season for the Hammers, scoring 15 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions this campaign. His performances have seen the 25-year-old routinely linked with a move to Anfield and has even earned praise from Jurgen Klopp, but when it comes to role models in the game, Bowen does not look beyond Liverpool's Egyptian King.
In a wide-ranging interview with American sports broadcaster CNN, Bowen confessed to drawing inspiration from players like Lionel Messi and David Beckham but, insisted that Salah is setting the 'gold standard' right now.
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Bowen said: "I think that the goals he scores, you know, when he gets a chance, nine times out of 10 it's in the back of the net, the work he does off the ball as well. When we played against them, I wasn't watching him when I was playing because that would be wrong to say, but I noticed the work he does off the ball."
Salah's 30 goals and 14 assists in 44 appearances have deservedly seem him crown Football Writers' Football of the Year and Bowen believes that the secret is in the Liverpool's star's ability to deliver the goods, week in week out.
Bowen said: "I think consistency is a big word. I think especially in (an) attacking position, people expect you to produce goals or set up goals for your teammates and that comes with being an attacker, so definitely scoring goals helps with the confidence. I think it just comes from standards within yourself that you set."
The Hammers' favourite, who hit the bar for David Moyes' side late on against Eintracht Frankfurt with a superb overhead kick in the Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday evening, also had praise for Liverpool's front line in general.
He added: "I think you look at every front three that Liverpool have and the work they do off the ball and we played them especially the way they pressed from the front as well, their front three isn't just a case of they don't defend; they just attack. They do attack and defend and you know, they get their rewards from it."
