West Ham United owner David Sullivan has made it clear that Jarrod Bowen is not for sale in January at ‘any price’, sources have confirmed.
Sullivan has shunned interest in Bowen in previous windows and even last summer, though we understand that there is renewed interest in prising Bowen away from the Hammers next month.
Sullivan previously insisted he would want more than £100million to even consider a sale, but now the West Ham supremo has determined that Bowen is now ‘untouchable.’
Bowen has once again been the pick of the bunch in West Ham’s attack this season and, within the club, they acknowledge just how important he is.
There’s a belief from within that if he were to leave, they could be signing their own Championship membership form as they would almost certainly doom themselves to relegation.
Even with Bowen, West Ham are third from bottom at Christmas, some five points off safety, and requiring more Bowen magic to stave off the drop in the second half of the campaign.
Bowen, for his part, has kept his council. He and his camp are aware of the bubbling interest and are well aware Tottenham have enquired on a regular basis.
Indeed, sources explain Spurs have asked about Bowen in each of the last four transfer windows.
We can also confirm that the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle are long-term admires of Bowen and would have no qualms about bidding for the left-footer if there was a realistic chance of landing him.
But at this point that is just not a possibility, with Sullivan making it clear that Bowen is going nowhere in January.
One player who is set to depart next month, however, is striker Niclas Fullkrug.
The German looks primed to join AC Milan on an initial six-month loan that contains an option to buy. Fullkrug’s full salary will be covered by Milan during the loan period.