West Ham have found their next captain in Jarrod Bowen, as Kurt Zouma’s departure from the club is almost certain.
Zouma is apparently close to moving to Dubai team Shabab Al-Ahli.
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The Pitch Prospect has learned that the Hammers are willing to let Zouma leave on a free transfer in order to save on his wages.
After captaining the club for the first time in August 2023, he will now hand over the captain’s armband to another player as he leaves the Premier League.
The former Chelsea defender was not at his best last season and West Ham head coach Julian Lopetegui has focused on strengthening his defence this transfer window.
They have already signed former Wolves captain Max Kilman for £40 million, who played every single minute of the Premier League for his old club last season.
The defender will reunite with Lopetegui, who coached him at Molineux.
Kilman had been one of the candidates for the outgoing Zouma’s captaincy – especially since it was Lopetegui who had appointed him captain of Wolves.
But now it looks like the captain’s armband is going in a different direction.
The Pitch Prospect believes that English winger Bowen is the favourite to succeed him as captain at the London Stadium.
Fan favourite Bowen moved to West Ham in 2020 and has since scored 60 goals in 202 appearances.
Since then, he has also fought his way into the England national team and was called up to the national team for the first time by Gareth Southgate in May 2022.
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Most recently, Bowen was part of the Three Lions team that lost to Spain in the final of the 2024 European Championships, coming on as a last-minute substitute in the tournament’s opening game against Serbia.
Zouma has previously spoken of what an honour it was to captain his club, particularly in last season’s European matches, but now he is about to leave the London Stadium.
“It is a great honour for me, especially to lead the team in the Europa League,” he said in April 2024. “I thought something like this would never happen to me.”
“It makes me very proud to lead such a great group.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, like everyone else. My teammates and coaches have helped me throughout my career, and I think all of that has helped me get to where I am today.”
West Ham have one more pre-season game against Celta Vigo on Saturday 10 August before the countdown to their first Premier League game of the 2024/25 season begins.
Their new captain will lead the team when they open the season at home to Aston Villa on Saturday 17 August.