Jarrod Bowen West Ham exit expected on ONE condition as Lucas Paqueta transfer outcome revealed | OneFootball

The prospect of West Ham getting relegated would cause a ‘transfer scramble’ for captain Jarrod Bowen, but Danny Dyer might have something to say about him leaving before then – while two transfer experts have assessed the likeliest outcome for the wantaway Lucas Paqueta.

Seven points adrift of safety, West Ham have an uphill battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League. There are already big question marks over the immediate futures of some of their players, such as Lucas Paqueta – who wants to leave for Flamengo – but Bowen’s case is one of the more fascinating.

The 29-year-old remains West Ham’s most inspirational player and is under contract for another four years. However, the general consensus is that he’s too good to be playing in the Championship, six years since he made the step up from Hull City.

If West Ham go down, then, Bowen is expected to be pounced upon by other clubs – although family ties are likely to stop any mischievous attempts by other clubs to snatch him this month.

That’s the latest from Graeme Bailey, speaking with Dean Jones on TEAMtalk’s latest Facebook live broadcast.

“The elephant in the room is Jarrod Bowen and what happens there,” Jones said.

“Now Jarrod Bowen’s never going to act in a way where he goes on strike or even has any doubt that he would go on strike, but he’s the one that would really – we’re already seeing protests.”

Bailey replied: “I can’t imagine. There’s a host of Premier League clubs who, no one wishes ill on another team, but if West Ham go down, we talked about the likes of Guehi etc but the transfer scramble for Jarrod Bowen will be something to behold.

“There’s not many teams who won’t want him.

“Of course he won’t stay, he’ll have his pick of clubs in the summer. But he’s committed. Both Danny Dyers [father-in-law Danny and wife Dani] will not allow him to leave before January, that’s for sure. We know he’s had chances.”

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Paqueta expected to force West Ham exit

One player who could leave before the end of the season is Paqueta, who has his heart set on a return to Flamengo in his native Brazil.

West Ham, though, aren’t too thrilled about his plans.

“He seems very adamant about the fact he’s ready to go, and from what I heard on Monday, West Ham weren’t particularly impressed by the way in which he’s going about it,” Jones said.

“They don’t want him to leave right now.

“I’m not saying he’s totally thrown his toys out of the pram, but I can see a situation occurring here where he tries to force it.”

Bailey agreed: “I think he will try and force it. I did speak to his people, they emphasised he won’t be going on strike or anything. But as we know, there’s many ways of trying to get their way with players.

“He does want to go to Flamengo. I think David Sullivan’s a little bit frustrated with the fact that he’s chosen Flamengo and he’s agreed personal terms in principle.

“Sullivan’s a little bit annoyed because I understand the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Villa have all had contact in the last month, as have the Saudi Pro League, and Paqueta’s insistent he is not going anywhere other than Flamengo.

“David Sullivan wants £42m, approaching £50m to wipe his feet on the player so he doesn’t lose any money, but as we know, Flamengo are not paying £50m or £40m for a player.

“It’s so fascinating. Let’s not forget that the Brazilian transfer market goes on until March. I think there’s a real chance Flamengo and West Ham agree to wait until March. We’ll know what’s happening in March, we’ll know if West Ham are staying up or not, so I think there’s a very good chance that they get another two months out of him, because let’s face it, West Ham can’t afford to lose any good players and they don’t have that many and Paqueta’s one of them.”

Furthermore, Jones warned of the potential knock-on effects of Paqueta leaving and whether West Ham will be able to attract players.

He added: “It sets a precedent because if Paqueta does force his way out, then what happens after that?

“We already know that they’re going to struggle to sign players at the moment because anybody that comes in is not going to be given a lucrative long-term contract, because the chances are as soon as you’re relegated to the Championship, you’re taking a pay reduction.”

That said, West Ham have still managed to sign a couple of new attackers this month, bringing in Taty Castellanos from Lazio and Pablo from Gil Vicente.

Their attention could soon turn to the opposite end of the pitch, after they touched base for a Chelsea player…