West Ham ace Jarrod Bowen reveals England plan amid competition from Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins

West Ham forward Bowen’s 18 goals this season earned him another call-up from Gareth Southgate for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

The 27-year-old has spent much of the season in a central striking role, but was back on the wing for West Ham’s 5-0 Europa League win over Freiburg and Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

He said: “If I’m playing up front I’ve got Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins to get ahead of.

“But no, I’ve been picked on my form playing here and every time you go into the international break you have to do it with that mindset of doing what you’ve been doing at club level.

“Don’t try to do too much, don’t try to impress too much. I always think, for me personally, that can backfire on you.

“For me, it’s going in with that same mindset and the same enjoyment of football. Go in there and try to impress. When you get your opportunity it’s important that you take it.”

Bowen’s first England call-up came in May 2022, when he won the first of his five caps, but he subsequently struggled for goals and did not make the cut for the World Cup in Qatar.

“I feel good. I feel like this year my consistency levels have been quite high,” he added.

“Going back to the last set of international call-ups, I scored a few goals before then. There was quite a big break, so there’s always that question of if you start the season strongly you’ve got to be in the same place by the back end of the season.

“I feel like I’ve been there all year. I’m feeling really good going there and I’m excited to meet up.”

West Ham could have moved to within a point of sixth-placed Manchester United had they held on to their lead following Michail Antonio’s goal against Villa.

But they were pegged back by Nicolo Zaniolo’s equaliser and were denied a stoppage-time winner when a VAR check ruled handball by Tomas Soucek.

Bowen believes the race for Europe will go right to the end of the season.

“There are a lot of teams in the equation,” he said. “Wolves have had some really good form and picked up, there’s Brighton, Newcastle, even Fulham who have won a few games and started to pick up.

“So, I wouldn’t say it’s just us and Man United. There are a lot of teams around us, five or six.

“You can talk about a top-four race, it’s the top-six or seven race as well. It’ll be an exciting end to the season; we play a couple of the teams around us, so it’s almost in our hands. If we beat them, we take control of it. “