Former West Ham coach Stuart Pearce has revealed what he told attacker Jarrod Bowen on his final day at the club.
The 60-year-old recently left his position as first team coach with the Hammers following two successful years as part of David Moyes’ backroom staff where he helped the team qualify for European competition. Part of that success has been down to Bowen, who was recently named the club’s players’ player of the year after hitting 18 goals in 51 appearances.
That form earned him his first call-up to the senior England squad where he is expected to make his full Three Lions debut during their upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Hungary, Germany and Italy. Gareth Southgate only has six games between now and the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, meaning the players in the current squad have the best chance of impressing him before the final squad is announced.
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And Pearce has revealed that he told Bowen on his final day of working at the club that he thought the forward deserved a spot in the England spot for all the hard work he had put in for the Hammers, adding that there’s plenty more that Bowen can still offer past what he has already accomplished.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Pearce said: “I’m really proud to be honest with you, it’s probably the one word I’d use. On my last day, at the Brighton game, I said to him ‘nothing would give me more pleasure. It’s been brilliant working with you and nothing would give me more pleasure than if you’re picked for England this time round’.”
“[He’s a] smashing kid as well,” Pearce added. “A really, really nice, humble young man. He’s got the ability with both feet. He can score with both feet, he can score with his head. I think there’s more to come from him. I think that’s probably the biggest compliment I can pay him. I don’t think he’s anywhere near the completed article at the moment.”
Pearce also gave his opinion on international allegiances, suggesting it’s not right that players are allowed to change who they represent on the international stage having already played for a different country. High-profile examples in the past include West Ham’s Declan Rice and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, who both featured for the Republic of Ireland before switching to England.
In the case of Rice, he made three senior appearances for the country where his grandparents were born before pledging his allegiance to England in February 2019.
“One thing I disagree with and I think a ruling should be made is as soon as you wear a national shirt for a country, especially in the UK, you cannot change your allegiances and go and play fr something else,” said Pearce. “It’s not a statement about Declan, that was the rule at the time. When we played a tournament against Germany in the Under-21s, their left-back turned up playing for Canada a month later. For me, I think it’s wrong. If you decide to put on a national shirt at any age group, you shouldn’t be allowed to chop and change and play for another nation.”
