Jarrod Bowen’s absence from action for England last night saved the Irons from having to stump up a £1 million fee to Hull City.

That would have been the cost to the club had he made his fifth appearance after the fee was included as part of the extras we would have to pay when he joined us.

Gareth Southgate left the player out of his plans for the game against Germany – the final game before the squad depart for Qatar in Novembe – perhaps after his poor start to the season. He was an unused sub for the match against Italy.

Bowen was an unused substitute as England lost 1-0 to Italy in Milan on Friday night – a result which saw the Three Lions relegated from their Nations League group – and was then left out of the squad completely on Monday night for the 3-3 draw with Germany at Wembley.

Now Bowen is likely to send the next few weeks anxious about his World Cup position and will hope to see his form pick up sufficiently for him to get a call up

By Hughie Southon

Ben Johnson is fifty/fifty to make the squad for the game against Wolves at the London Stadium this Saturday.

The defender has been suffering from a hamstring injury but is on the mend and although it’s an outside chance he could possibly make the squad.

Ben has been a little injury prone in the past, but a source told ClaretandHugh that he is making a decent recovery from his latest issue.

It seems certain given the position that Vladi Coufal will continue in the right back role with Cresswell on the left side.

A source explained: “Ben is doing ok and recovering. A decision is set to be made on his involvement later in the qwwwk

However, the problems continue at the centre of defence where it is likely Thilo Kehrer will link up with Kurt Zouma and it remains to be seen if Alphone Areola will get his chance

Both Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek could be dropped this weekend against Wolves.

The pair remain vital parts of the club’s squad and there really is hope that they can each turn their form around, but the start to this season has been dismal.

Soucek did score against Spurs, but his form has been terrible amid the Hammers’ run of form that has seen them slip into the relegation zone.

Bowen, by comparison, has not scored or assisted a goal in the league thus far but he was called up by England boss Gareth Southgate to play Italy and Germany. He was left out of both games and did not play a single minute.

There are options in the squad, now, though, so that the pair can potentially be rested.

Maxwel Cornet plays on the right wing for the Ivory Coast, and he has yet to start for the club in the Premier League, while Flynn Downes is waiting for his first league start.

Boss David Moyes has options, and dropping the pair would send a significant message.

By Dave Langton

David Moyes is set to sit down with Tomas Soucek to thrash out exactly why his form has nosedived.

The Hammers midfielder is currently away on international duty with the Czech Republic, who will face Switzerland on Tuesday evening.

That game comes after they were thumped 4-0 by Portugal last week, in a game in which Soucek was largely ineffective.

That has been the story of his season.

While the 27-year-old did score against Spurs, he has been a hazard in midfield, with his passing and shooting seemingly deserting him. He hasn’t got an assist in the league, and the only other goal he scored came against Viborg in the Conference League qualifiers.

Moyes has continued to pick Soucek, but there is the looming threat that he could be dropped if his form does not take an upward turn soon.

As a result, the Hammers boss intends to sit down privately with the 27-year-old to discuss his recent troubles and try to find a way through.

The Irons face Wolves this weekend in a huge game, with Moyes’ men currently languishing in the relegation zone, and they can ill-afford Soucek to go missing once again.

By Hughie Southon

Seeing the Premier League season interrupted by the World Cup was always going to be bad news.

But that the tournament should be held in Quatar after stadiums were built by people who have since died, whilst others have lived in cruel conditions. is a cancer on the name of football.

I have made my personals feelings clear on the ClaretandHugh Facebook page, but thankfully top journo and Hammers fan Martin Samuel has added his voice to those who are feeling shamed by Fifa’s decision.

International football in itself holds no attraction for me to be frank but that is the most minor of points on this occasion although it seems to have taken Gary Neville a while to discover what many of us have known for a long while.

I won’t be watching the ghastly tournament against a background of the behaviour that was inflicted on people of that nation with – as Martin says – football doing little to stop it.

He writes in the Mail at MARTIN SAMUEL: English football doesn’t need Netflix or even third-party broadcasting partners | Daily Mail Online: Following on from the armband of protest so meaningful that Wales left theirs in a dressing room in Belgium, Gary Neville has visited Qatar — with a TV crew in tow, naturally — and it turns out it’s not a nice place.

Of course, with the World Cup less than two months away and its presence there now sadly unavoidable, these interventions are without purpose. It’s happening. People have died. People have lived in horrid, cruel, inhospitable conditions for many years. And football did the bare minimum to stop that.

The blame falls on FIFA, rightly. Yet Qatar was awarded the World Cup almost 12 years ago. The brutality could have been stopped had more of those with influence stood against it earlier: nations, federations, even players.

The club captain of Manchester United at the time, for instance, was a prominent figure with a strong voice and authority among his fellow professionals. Such a person could have started a movement in this country, that could have spread.

If England and English footballers had acted, with so much influence in a cosmopolitan league, other nations and their players might also have got involved.

Who knows what such a reaction could have achieved? It’s too late now. Leave that thought with you.

Declan Rice’s indifferent club form extended into his England performance last night …at least according to the newspaper ratings .

The Hammers skipper was on the pitch for 90 minutes as England fought back to claim a 3-3 draw against Germany at Wembley.

Dec’s form – like the rest of the Hammers squad in the main – has been pretty average by his own high standards and the situation was the the same last night as he struggled to make a serious impact.

England were a goal down at half-time, but an entertaining final 45 minutes saw the Three Lions take a 3-2 lead before Kai Havertz pounced on a goalkeeping mistake to ensure the points were shared.

The two who did impress were Luke Shaw and Jude Bellingham nut Harry Maguire was again in p[opopr shape whilst Nick Pope was certainly not at his best.

Bone of those handing out the ratings appeared to be over impressed with Declan who received the following ratings.

The Mirror (27 September, Pg. 50) handed Rice a 6/10 rating and said he was “disciplined in midfield”, but “lost the battle”.

The Evening Standard weren’t much more generous and said Rice “struggled” against Germany’s duo of Ilkay Gundogan and Joshua Kimmich.

The Sun echoed others with a 6/10 rating for Rice, but slated his handling of Jamal Musiala, with the Germany star leaving him “flummoxed” on multiple occasions.

Reports have emerged this morning that West Ham are still in the hunt to sign Spezia Calcio defender Jakub Kiwior in the 2023 summer transfer window.

They claim that the club missed out on signing the 22-year-old in the winter window but that David Moyes is expected to renew his interest.

TuttoMercatoWeb are reporting the news but it is unlikely the Hammers will follow up given that the Hammers boss is looking to extend Craig Dawson’s deal.

With Angelo Ogbonna also recovering well now from injury and Nayef Aguerd expected to return by the new year the manager has sufficient resources at the back with Thilo Kehrer and Kurt Zouma also being available.

David Moyes’ would face hefty rivalry from Italian giants AC Milan to land the player in any event and the Hammers are known to have spent the majority of the transfer money available to them in the summer anyway.