Away day specialist Jarrod Bowen now second among Dream Team midfielders this season

JARROD BOWEN (£4.8m) loves an away day.

West Ham lost 4-1 at Villa Park on Sunday but their No20 grabbed a slice of history in consolation.

The England international scored the Hammers’ lone goal, meaning he’s been on the score sheet in his first five away fixtures of the season.

Only two other players have achieved this in the Premier League era, Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah (£6.6m).

Despite his side’s defeat, Bowen pouched 12 points in the realm of Dream Team to take his overall tally for the season to 79.

Bukayo Saka (£6.4m) is the only midfielder with more points (93) to his name at the time of writing.

Bowen has scored six and provided two assists in all competitions this season and no asset in his position has registered more shots on target (14).

His success should not come as a surprise to Dream Team managers as he’s spent a lot of time among the game’s top midfielders in the last couple of years.

What is notable, however, is the relatively difficult fixtures Bowen has already ticked off this campaign.

David Moyes’ side have faced Chelsea, Brighton, Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle and Aston Villa in their first nine league fixtures.

The 12.1% of gaffers currently backing the 26-year-old will be hopeful of even greater returns in the coming weeks as the West Ham’s next five opponents in the top flight are: Everton, Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

The club also remain active in the Carabao Cup and Europa League.

To put it plainly, Bowen has been great and should continue to provide plentiful returns for the foreseeable future.

One aspect that may confuse this matter for gaffers contemplating Bowen’s viability is that many of them will already have James Ward-Prowse (£4.3m) in their XI.

The set-piece specialist completes the midfield podium, he’s just two points behind his team-mate on 77, and is actually more popular with an ownership of 19.5%.

In fact, Ward-Prowse is the fifth-most selected player in his position.

Instinctively, some gaffers may feel two West Ham midfielders is excessive but if both players are thriving and the fixtures look good then there’s no need to shy away from such a strategy.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk