Jarrod Bowen replaces Kurt Zouma as West Ham United’s captain ahead of new season

London [UK], August 15 (ANI): Premier League outfit West Ham United have named Jarrod Bowen as the new club captain on Thursday.

Bowen took over the captaincy armband from defender Kurt Zouma, who led the club last season after taking over the role from Declan Rice.

Following his announcement, Bowen stated his intention to become one of the club’s icons.

“I don’t see it as weighing heavy – I see it as another opportunity to represent this club with honour and pride. Those names will be remembered forever by West Ham fans, and I’m not there yet, but I want to keep working my way to get to there,” Bowen said in a video posted by West Ham United on X.

“I’ve said that I wanted to stay here for the rest of my life and I still haven’t come off that page. If I can go down as a legend here in years to come, that would be great,” he added.

According to Sky Sports News, Zouma remains in Dubai. He is waiting for further developments over a potential move to UAE club Shabab Al-Ahli. It was also reported that a deal had been agreed with the UAE club, but the move broke down after Zouma failed a medical.

Bowen has been at West Ham since 2020 and has featured 202 times, racking up 60 goals and 39 assists.

The 27-year-old English forward scored the winner for West Ham in the Europa League final in 2023. Bowen has a contract with West Ham United until 2030. Bowen penned a long-term contract with West Ham in October last year.

After committing his future to West Ham, Bowen stated that he is looking forward to creating more memories with the club.

“I’m so pleased to have signed a new long-term contract at West Ham. Everyone knows what this club means to me, so committing my future until 2030 means so much to me and my family,” Bowen said after signing the contract extension last year.

“I’ve loved every minute of my time here. Winning the Europa Conference League in Prague was an amazing moment, scoring the winner in the last minute will be something I’ll cherish forever. It’s left us all wanting that feeling again and again – we want to create more memories together, for our fantastic fans, and for this fantastic Football Club,” he concluded.