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JARROD BOWEN: "I COULDN'T REPLACE SALA"


The winger has thrived on Humberside and has scored 19 goals so far this season for his club


Sky Sports

Thursday 14th March 2019

Hull forward Jarrod Bowen says he turned down the chance to sign for Cardiff in January as he would have found the prospect of replacing Emiliano Sala "uncomfortable".

Sala signed for Cardiff during the winter transfer window, but died just days later when the plane carrying him to Wales crashed into the English Channel.

The Bluebirds did not sign a replacement for Sala during the remaining days of the window, although Bowen claims he was offered the chance to join the Premier League side.

Talking of Cardiff's approach in January, Bowen said: "The whole situation was very uncomfortable. Of course, it was nothing to do with how I view Cardiff as a club, but the whole story around Sala was just so tragic. To join Cardiff knowing that he was meant to play for them would have been incredibly difficult and not something that filled me with any enthusiasm.

"Of course, any transfer would have needed Hull's approval in any case, but from my personal point of view it was never a starter, not under those circumstances. It just felt wrong. Now we know for certain that Emiliano died. It still feels unbelievable that his life could be cut short like that, it seems so cruel."

"Cardiff offered £12million for me, Hull had accepted the offer."




Having scored 34 goals in 18 months for Hull City, it was little surprise Premier League clubs were sniffing around Jarrod Bowen in the January transfer window.

Fair enough.

Why even bring it up now.

Interesting, we clearly made a good attempt to bring someone in.

The bit at the end about " of course any such deal would've needed the approval of Hull City" makes me a bit suspicious actually.
I'd have thought his club would have been in the loop if the deal was actually in the table.
If he's using this as a bit of self publicity or to create interest from Premiership clubs in the future, that would be in very bad taste and very disrespectful .

'The whole situation was very uncomfortable': Jarrod Bowen admits he turned down January move to Cardiff after they wanted him to replace tragic Emiliano Sala


Daily Mail

Thursday 14th March 2019

Having scored 34 goals in 18 months for Hull City, it was little surprise Premier League clubs were sniffing around Jarrod Bowen in the January transfer window.

But when a bid of £12million was tabled by Cardiff City towards the deadline, it left the 22-year-old forward feeling deeply conflicted given that The Bluebirds earlier marquee signing Emiliano Sala was still missing, presumed dead.

'The whole situation was very uncomfortable,' is how the Championship marksman explains his emotions on hearing of Cardiff's interest.

Jarrod Bowen turned down the chance of a £12million move from Hull to Cardiff in January

'Of course, it was nothing to do with how I view Cardiff as a club, and any player will tell you it's their dream to play in the Premier League.

'But the whole story around Sala was just so tragic. I know it caused a lot of shock and upset in our dressing-room at Hull, and I am sure it was the same around the country.

'To join Cardiff knowing that he was meant to play for them would have been incredibly difficult and not something that filled me with any enthusiasm.

'Of course, any transfer would have needed Hull's approval in any case, but from my personal point of view it was never a starter, not under those circumstances. It just felt wrong.

'Now we know for certain that Emiliano died. It still feels unbelievable that his life could be cut short like that, it seems so cruel.'


Bowen's viewpoint is entirely natural. Young footballers often get a bad rap for being self-centred and money-led, but he could see - and more importantly felt - the bigger picture.

Since taking his decision, Bowen has dedicated himself to trying to get Hull in the play-offs, even though they are outsiders after a poor start to the season. He has scored 19 goals this season and will relish a shoot-out with the division's leading scorer Teemu Pukki at Norwich City on Wednesday night.

Ironically, Norwich are one of the clubs who are also monitoring Bowen in recent weeks, as are Everton whose manager Marco Silva was in charge on Humberside when the youngster made his first league start in 2017, memorable for the wrong reasons.

'Spurs beat us 7-1, definitely a case of "welcome to the Premier League", recalls Bowen. 'I came off at 4-1 down and as soon as I sat down, I looked up to see Harry Kane running through to get his hat-trick.

'There were some good moments that season as well. I played when we beat Manchester United in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final at our place.

'I remember Tom Huddlestone running up to take a penalty, I was on the edge of the box getting ready to run in for any rebound; Paul Pogba was one side of me, Zlatan Ibrahimovic the other! It was surreal - these were guys I'd only ever seen on the TV.'

Bowen grew up in Leominster on the opposite side of the country to Hull. When his local club Hereford United went bust, a few league clubs came in but he was won over by Hull's first-team manager Steve Bruce showing a personal interest.

'I sat in his office the week before Hull played Arsenal in the FA Cup Final and there were a couple of tickets for Wembley on his desk - not meant for me I should say!

'I gave these tickets a quick glance and Steve joked "You're only here to get my cup final tickets!"

'It broke the ice and the academy coach Tony Pennock was really good to me as well, so that made my mind up.'


Hull's relegation gave Bowen his big chance and he's shone in The Championship, where he currently plays on the right of a 4-3-3 where he has been able to cut inside to great effect on his favoured left foot.

Many of his former team-mates have achieved the Premier League dream including Liverpool's cult left-back, Andy Robertson. 'We had a lot of duels in training with me on the right wing. We knew he was going to be a top player but what he's achieved since he left has been unbelievable,' says Bowen.

Will he be next? Certainly, his name has been linked with bigger clubs all season and he says; 'I've had all the banter. If I go to clean my boots, one or two of the lads will joke: "You packing them away because you're leaving!" That's just how the football environment is.

'What's pleased me is that I've shown I'm not a one-season wonder. I didn't start this season too well and my girlfriend Jasmine was very supportive, and I've been able to go on a run and got more goals than I did last season. Now I just want to score as many as I can.

'I'm not itching to leave Hull but everyone wants to play at as high a level as they can and it would be daft to pretend otherwise. All I can do is continue playing well and scoring goals and see where it takes us.'


Bowen is still eligible for England under-21s and the game at Carrow Road is his last chance to impress manager Aidy Bothroyd before he names his next squad on Thursday.

Competition is fierce with the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Maddison, Demarai Gray and Callum Hudson-Odoi to name just four rivals but what pleases Bowen is the number of players who have successfully made the jump from Championship to Premier League.

'Look at Harvey Barnes,' he says. 'He was at West Brom the first half of the season, gone back to Leicester and he's gone into their first-team and done well. Taking Leicester as a club, they've signed Gray and Maddison from the Championship and they've also done well.

'It shows the gap might not be as big as everyone seems to think, the Championship is a very good standard itself.'


The winger has thrived on Humberside and has scored 19 goals so far this season for his club

JARROD BOWEN: "I COULDN'T REPLACE SALA"


The winger has thrived on Humberside and has scored 19 goals so far this season for his club



"Cardiff offered £12million for me, Hull had accepted the offer."




Having scored 34 goals in 18 months for Hull City, it was little surprise Premier League clubs were sniffing around Jarrod Bowen in the January transfer window.

First he says Hull would have to approve it then he says Hull accepted the offer???

Strange and a bit bad taste ( if true )

I did hear at the time he turned us down

It's gone all quiet on the repayment of transfer fee

He had trials with us as a teenager and we decided he wasn’t good enough, now worth 12m! Who made that decision?

HarriRhys22 wrote:He had trials with us as a teenager and we decided he wasn’t good enough, now worth 12m! Who made that decision?

These things happen particularly at trialist level. Been quite impressed with Semi Ajayi recently. We got rid when we were struggling in the championship and he's definitely good enough for that. Probably never gong to be prem standard but he certainly looking like a promising late developer.