How many goals AI thinks West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen could score in the EFL Championship next season | OneFootball

FLW reveals AI’s prediction of how many goals Jarrod Bowen will score in the Championship next season, should he remain at the London Stadium.

West Ham United will be putting their plans into action ahead of their return to the Championship.

The Hammers are preparing for their first Championship campaign since 2012 after coming 18th in the top-flight, missing out on safety by just two points.

Returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking is definitely something the East London outfit will target given they are likely to have dominant financial resources compared to the rest of the division and could raise significant money through a number of player exits this summer.

One sale that has already developed is of Mateus Fernandes, with the midfielder moving back to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur.

The Hammers have reportedly pocketed a fixed fee of £85m, which will be so important towards attacking the summer transfer window and building a squad capable of being at the summit of the Championship standings.

One player who West Ham will be desperate to keep hold of is club captain Jarrod Bowen, with the England international promising to be such a key figure to their promotion push, should he remain at the London Stadium.

It would be a major shock for Bowen to remain in East London following his nine goals and 11 assists in last season’s top-flight campaign, and their resolve could well be tested given the emerging interest from Premier League sides like Everton and Aston Villa, while Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are also monitoring his situation.

However, there seems to be an increasing confidence from the Hammers that they will be able to hold onto their starman in the second tier, who was seen at the front and centre of their new home kit reveal for the 2026-27 season.

So with it growing more and more likelier that Bowen will stick around in claret and blue, FLW reveals AI’s predictions of how many goals the 29-year-old will score in the 2026-27 Championship season.

Jarrod Bowen predicted to score 21 goals in the Championship next season

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Able to hold his own in a European-chasing Premier League side, it would frankly be seen as a cheat code for West Ham to keep Jarrod Bowen on their books in the Championship, and he is likely to score plenty of goals that can hopefully push the Hammers back to the top-flight at the first time of asking.

With that being said, AI has predicted that the West Ham club captain will net 21 goals across the 2026-27 campaign, should he remain at the London Stadium.

AI believes Bowen will net consistently in the second tier due to delivering double-digit goals in the Premier League. By dropping a level, his chance quality and conversion rate would both improve significantly.

Another reason for the 21-goal total is because in the Championship, West Ham are likely to dominate possession in most of the games they play, which will increase Bowen’s ability to score counter-attacking goals, make late runs into the box as well as finishing off second balls and converting penalties.

However, AI has also listed some cons for Bowen as to why he won’t reach upwards of 25-30 goals like many avid second tier watchers might expect him to make.

The first reason is that even in a weaker league, Bowen will spend most games drifting out wide or creating chances rather than being the sole goalscorer in the fixed number nine position, which will cap his rate compared to what a central striker could notch in such a dominant team.

Meanwhile, given Bowen’s name, it’s predicted that he will be a rather marked man by bullish Championship defenders. With an increase of physicality in the second tier compared to the Premier League, AI believes Bowen could struggle, particularly being suppressed in hostile away games.

The final reason is the inevitable rotation that a 46-game schedule brings. Despite Bowen playing every single Premier League game last season, it’s a whole different ball game in the Championship, with the Hammers often playing three games in a week.

Therefore, rotation, injuries and tactical changes could mean that even a player like Bowen won’t play every single minute of a relentless Championship season, having the potential to bring his goalscoring rate down.

West Ham should go on to secure promotion if Jarrod Bowen stays

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There’s no doubt that if Jarrod Bowen stays at West Ham, the odds of the Hammers gaining promotion at the first time of asking increase tremendously.

Bowen has been a proven quality Premier League asset over the years at the London Stadium, so he should thrive at a level below and be the best player in the division by some distance.

With AI’s prediction, 21 goals seems a fair reflection of what Bowen could muster, with factors like being man marked in games and playing out wide preventing him from getting to the 25 or even 30-goal mark that he is capable of hitting.

However, Bowen would surely make up for that with his chance creation, with the 29-year-old having the magic to create something out of nothing for his teammates, on top of his ability to find the back of the net regularly.

The biggest win of the summer transfer window in the Championship will be if West Ham can keep hold of Bowen, with this outcome so key to seeing West Ham put last season’s relegation behind them and be back as an established Premier League team in the years to come.