David Moyes has set Jarrod Bowen a target of hitting 20 goals this season after the West Ham forward roared back to form with a hat-trick against Brentford on Monday night.
Bowen had gone seven games without a goal in the run-up to that fixture, but a treble took his tally to 14 in the Premier League, and 17 in all competitions.
A winger by trade, Bowen has been converted to centre-forward this season with huge success and has already surpassed his most prolific top-flight campaign.
The run has thrust the 27-year-old firmly back into England contention ahead of this month’s friendlies against Belgium and Brazil and Moyes believes there has been a notable change in his player’s attitude towards scoring this season.
“He’s so keen to score goals, he’s got a look in his eyes,” Moyes said. “He’s enjoying the feeling of being a goalscorer, he’s looking like he can be a goalscorer.
“I’m just sensing someone who’s on that route. He can still play wide-right and we’ll play him wide-right when we need to, he can chop and change.”
No West Ham player has ever scored 20 goals in a Premier League campaign, with Teddy Sheringham doing so in the Championship in 2004/05 and Tony Cottee the last to do so in a top-flight season, back in 1986/87. With 12 games of the season still to go, however, Moyes believes Bowen is capable of bucking the trend.
“I’ve not set him a target but in my head, if he can get to 20 goals it will be a great record for a centre-forward at West Ham, it really will be,” Moyes added. “I’ve not told him that yet but there you go, I’ve probably set a target for him."
