West Ham United’s captain has returned from an international break of mixed fortunes to prepare to launch himself headlong at saving the Hammers’ Premier League season. Unable to shine on the pitch in front of Thomas Tuchel, Bowen was reduced to bit-parts as a substitute and now clearly hopes to catch the England coach’s eye through his domestic efforts.

And that all starts on Sunday with the Leeds visit for a too-close-to-call cup quarter final.

Whether Nuno rotates his Hammers starting eleven, Bowen is likely to be in situ for the game in front of 55,000-odd home fans and has declared himself fully focused: As per the yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk:

“My focus is always on West Ham. We’ve got the chance for an FA Cup semi-final. I’ve got a chance to come (to Wembley) and lead them out, which would be such a special thing for me.”

Bowen has struggled – through Tuchel’s selection policy – to make the desired impact on an international stage

The Premier League campaign resumes the week after and the Hammers skipper is taking each one of those last seven league games as a crucial cup game in its own right:

“And then...