When the subject of West Ham United captain and his soon-to-be son-in-law Jarrod Bowen was brought up, Danny Dyer could not resist a comedic glance at his watch.
The implication being, of course, that the watershed was still hours away.
The sweary-mouthed, bordering-on national treasure is not usually one to watch his language. But, as Danny Dyer was quizzed on the future of Jarrod Bowen during the latest edition of Sunday Brunch, you could almost hear the ghostly voice of Davina McCall echo through the studio walls.
‘Danny, you are live on Channel Four, please do not swear’.
Many a West Ham United supporter would not be quite so restrained. On a weekend in which Jarrod Bowen committed his future to West Ham, the prospect of the Hammers skipper leaving the London Stadium for Chelsea or, shudder, Tottenham Hotspur would usually see the air turn a deep shade of blue.
But, while Bowen’s future father-in-law could not resist the temptation to let Spurs know where they stand in addition to labelling the skipper ‘better than [Arsenal’s Bukayo] Saka’, Dyer restrained himself just enough in a response dripping with typical sardonic menace.
Danny Dyer laughs off Tottenham rumour for West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen
After Jarrod Bowen twice delayed his wedding to Danny Dyer’s namesake and daughter in a failed attempt to secure a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, the Mean Machine actor cannot bring himself to even imagine the sight of a Tottenham player sitting across from him during future Christmas dinners.
“I could quite easily swear here,” a moustache-sporting Dyer chuckled. “Let me tell you something now, he certainly won’t be going to Spurs. If he was ever going to leave, he would never go to Tottenham.
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“No, listen, I would never stand in the way of his career. I have no right to do that. But he’s an incredible human being, an incredible player, he’s not a man that should sit on the bench.
“Chelsea, why would he come to a smaller club? Liverpool have got Mo Salah…
“We need a good season [next] year. I won’t blame him slipping off. But West Ham need to have a good season. In answer to your question, the geezer’s not going nowhere!”
Wearing the captain’s armband these days, the ‘incredible’ Jarrod Bowen signed off in style against Ipswich Town on Sunday. Bringing down the curtain on another fine individual season, Bowen assisted James Ward-Prowse’s opener and lashed home a thumping second.
Jarrod Bowen wants to stay at West Ham United
With 13 Premier League goals, the 2024/25 season is now the second-most prolific of his top-flight career.
And with a contract running until the summer of 2030, a source speaking on behalf of West Ham’s owners told Hammers News a few weeks ago that Bowen is simply ‘not for sale’.
“You score a couple of goals, transfer window comes around the corner and people are interested in you,” Bowen admitted on Sunday when asked about those links with the likes of Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea.
“I have been linked a few times in different transfer windows when I have had good seasons. I have been here for five, five-and-a-half years now and I have got good numbers in goals and assists so I think that is always going to come.
“But we are sitting here at a club where we have won a European trophy, we have finished in high places, had a Europa League semi-final, so we have had a lot of success as well since I have been here.
“We have had a blip this season and when we won the Conference League I think we finished lower as well, but no-one remembers that because we won the trophy.
“This is the first season where we have had no Europe and we have been really poor in the league position, so talk is going to happen.
“But for me, unless the club turned around and said they were selling me then I won’t be going anywhere.”