Eddie Howe keen on Jarrod Bowen if West Ham suffer relegation - Report

Newcastle United have been linked with Jarrod Bowen several times in the past, even before Eddie Howe's tenure, but the current Toon boss is a known fan of the England winger.

Steve Bruce almost brought Bowen to Newcastle before he joined West Ham. The pair had worked together at Hull City, and Bowen was even parked up on the M1 waiting for the green light to come and sign for the Magpies, but Mike Ashley refused to sanction the deal, and he went to the Hammers instead.

Bowen has been one of, if not the most consistent, performers for West Ham over the last few years, but with the London side facing the drop, questions have been raised about his future.

Anthony Elanga hasn't exactly been pulling up trees since his big-money move to Newcastle in the summer, while Jacob Murphy has been pretty hit or miss this season, more miss than hit if we're being honest.

Bowen on Newcastle's radar if relegated?

We're not sure if a right winger is on the agenda for Newcastle, given how many other areas there are to address first, but if Bowen were to become available, we'd be surprised if we weren't in the mix.

Should West Ham beat the drop, it's likely to be a moot point anyway, as talkSPORT believes that Bowen will not push for a move if the Hammers remain in the Premier League.

If they go down, however, it's probably going to be in West Ham's best interests to cash in on their top players, and talkSPORT claims Liverpool and Newcastle could be ready to pounce for the 29-year-old.

That said, their mention of Newcastle is more based on Eddie Howe's long-term admiration. Considering our likely shift in transfer approach this summer, a move for an expensive option approaching his 30s seems unlikely.

Ross Wilson will probably overrule Eddie Howe

We know that Howe is a big admirer of Bowen, but does he really fit the new transfer strategy? We don't think so.

Unless West Ham were willing to let him go for a relatively small sum, we can't see Newcastle actually going for him.

Eddie Howe will have told Ross Wilson the profile of player to look for, but we expect that the days of Howe having final say are gone after the summer's disasters. And with Wilson looking to lower the average age in the squad, we expect that Bowen would be too old for Wilson to pursue.

We've been big admirers of Bowen, but we're buying into this young squad idea so we don't mind missing out.