The West Ham board have responded to fresh claims linking Jarrod Bowen with a shock move to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur amid the club’s desperate situation on and off the pitch.
West Ham are set to announce record losses exceeding £100m in their December accounts.
Tottenham Hotspur meanwhile have added that same amount to their income just by qualifying for the Champions League this season.
Spurs have already embarrassed West Ham by taking advantage of the club’s delicate PSR situation by signing Mohammed Kudus for just £54.5m in the summer.
That move ended a 14-and-a-half-year unofficial transfer embargo between the Hammers and Tottenham and is one of many reasons fans are so unhappy with the club’s owners.
Report claims Spurs plan £60m Bowen bid in January
Most West Ham fans accepted Kudus had to be sold to raise funds for signings.
But for the Irons to sell a top player to Tottenham, just two years after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal, did not go down well at all in east London.
Especially as West Ham fans now have to watch Kudus shining in Thomas Frank’s side.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
Kudus is not the only West Ham player Tottenham have been linked with in recent seasons, though.
They say there is no smoke without fire — and Tottenham Hotspur are once again being linked with a fresh swoop for beloved Hammers captain and talisman Jarrod Bowen.
Now a new report has claimed Hammers skipper Bowen could be tempted by Spurs in a hugely concerning development.
According to a notorious Spanish football site, the north London club are reported to be preparing a serious attempt to sign Bowen in the January transfer window.
The latest claims suggest Tottenham will try to take advantage of West Ham’s desperate financial situation – and the fact they could be relegation certainties by January – with a bid in the region of just €60 million (£53–60 million).
The news from Spain has been repeated by several sources in England.
The new report has also claimed Bowen could be tempted by Spurs given he is settled in Essex having purchased a £3m pad with wife Dani Dyer last summer.
West Ham board respond to new claim Bowen could join Spurs
Now the West Ham board have responded to a worrying new claim Bowen could join Spurs— making the club’s stance on the matter perfectly clear.
Bowen signed a seven-year contract extension in October 2023.
Hammers News exclusively revealed earlier this month that West Ham also have the option of an eighth year on Bowen’s deal.
Tottenham have been linked on a number of occasions in the past, including the last two summer windows.
Previously, majority owner David Sullivan signalled unwavering intent to keep Bowen stating: “He is not for sale” while slapping a staggering £150 million price tag on the forward to deter suitors.
But with the club now facing extreme turbulence on and off the pitch, the new claims are understandably disturbing.
One of the biggest worries surrounding West Ham’s possible relegation concerns Bowen.
Many expected him to break Michail Antonio’s record as West Ham’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer this season.
But West Ham’s woeful start to the season has made that look as unlikely as the club remaining in the top flight at the quarter-way stage.
Some pundits have started to suggest Bowen might need to leave West Ham in order to play at a higher level and further his England ambitions.
With the November international break looming, the pressure could be piled on the Hammers if Thomas Tuchel fails to select Bowen.
West Ham owners make Bowen Spurs sale stance clear
That could play right into Tottenham’s hands if the new report about a January bid materialises.
Especially if West Ham find themselves cut adrift by then, which is a distinct possibility given they already need back-to-back wins and results to go for them elsewhere just to climb out of the bottom three at this early stage.
Bowen has always been West Ham’s one “untouchable”.
But the feeling is that may change in light of West Ham’s predicament on the pitch and on their balance sheet.
Spurs’ interest in Kudus seemed far-fetched in the summer but they managed to get that deal done, hence legitimate concern among fans Bowen might be next.
West Ham’s public stance remains firm, though, Hammers News can exclusively reveal.
It was put to the top spokesman for the club’s owners whether there was any truth to the new claim that Bowen could be sold to Tottenham in the January transfer window.
And the response was short, sharp and very sweet for West Ham fans.
“Total rubbish,” the top spokesman for West Ham’s board told Hammers News when pressed on the claims Bowen could join Spurs in January.
It doesn’t get any clearer than that for the Hammers or Tottenham.
Whether Tottenham still chance their arm when the window rolls around remains to be seen.
Especially as West Ham could be tip-toeing financial constraints tied to the Premier League’s PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules) by then.
But the lure of a major cash injection by selling Bowen will not force their hand according to the club’s hierarchy.