West Ham United ended a period of struggle emphatically last weekend after Jarrod Bowen's hat-trick inspired a rousing 4-1 victory over Brentford in the Premier League.
David Moyes has been under heavy pressure of late, with his Hammers side slumping in form and failing to secure victory in any competition in 2024 before the win over Thomas Frank's side, falling in the FA Cup against Championship team Bristol City back in January.
There have been calls for the Scotsman to close the door on his illustrious reign in east London and the West Ham hierarchy were even said to have halted contractual negotiations after an abject afternoon against Arsenal, who romped to a 6-0 victory at the London Stadium in the Premier League.
As things stand, Moyes will leave the club when his deal expires in the summer but there is every chance that the stability and consistency that he brings will convince owner David Sullivan to present him with fresh terms, despite segments of the fanbase expressing discontent with his perceived pragmatic style.
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But is this really prudent? Moyes might not provide the most free-flowing brand of football but he succeeds at the highest level, his tactical set-up mostly effective.
Moreover, he has created a truly sensational squad of players, with the aforementioned Bowen arriving not long after the 60-year-old's reappointment back in December 2019 and perhaps proving to be the most influential star since.
Jarrod Bowen's West Ham career in numbers
West Ham completed the £20m plus add-ons acquisition of Bowen back on January deadline day in 2020, with the winger impressing with Hull City in the Championship and looking every bit the successful forward in the top flight.
He started his new life in London with promise as Moyes looked to root his reign with a successful swerve of relegation, Bowen aiding his side in that feat with one goal and four assists across 13 Premier League outings.
He's somewhat flipped the switch at present, now regarded for his finishing ability and menacing presence in the final third, with his three-goal haul against Brentford taking him up to 14 strikes in the league this season, behind only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
1.
Erling Haaland
17
2.
Mohamed Salah
15
3.
Jarrod Bowen
14
3.
Dominic Solanke
14
3.
Ollie Watkins
14
Noted for his "electric" ability in front of goal by journalist Rahman Osman, the England international is one of English football's standout forwards, having also scored the winning goal against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final last June to crown the Moyes era in gold.
Of course, while the 27-year-old's dart and drive into the danger area, preceding a sumptuous placed finish, was crucial to the club's lifting of the trophy – conclusive, in fact – he wasn't the only player to have crafted silver-laden success.
It was Lucas Paqueta's delightful threaded ball to send Bowen wheeling toward goal, with the Brazilian playmaker possibly even a cut above the Hammers' prolific talisman.
Lucas Paqueta's value has soared at West Ham
This season, West Ham had been in fine fettle before a slump in form throughout January and February, and Paqueta has been one of the linchpins, posting five goals and six assists across 28 matches in all competitions.
The player made the move to London back in 2022, joining in a club-record £51m deal that confirmed to the division that West Ham were indeed striving for the top, not resting on their laurels after making progress and reaching the continent under Moyes' stewardship.
And while he only scored five goals and supplied seven assists over 43 outings last term, his influence and intellect in his movement and guiding of the play transcended the expectations set by the blinkered view of a player's worth assessed only through their direct output.
That through ball to send Bowen through on goal was representative of his ball-playing quality, probably the most elegant and effective of any player in the squad, with former teammate Declan Rice awestruck by Paqueta's “mind-boggling” attributes.
As per FBref, Paqueta also ranks among the top 8% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, the top 5% for progressive passes, the top 1% for tackles, the top 16% for interceptions, the top 13% for clearances and the top 75 for aerial duels won per 90.
While some might question whether the £150k-per-week phenomenon's metrics have been distorted by his fluctuation between an attacking midfield role and the very centre of the pitch, he has in fact only played in central midfield on three occasions across all competitions this term, thus strengthening the argument that, yes, he is indeed one of Europe's elite distributors.
His all-action prowess had even attracted the attention of Manchester City last summer, with Pep Guardiola's side launching a series of bids to secure his signature, even offering £80m to convince West Ham to part ways, though the likely-accepted approach never saw the next phase, that eventuality slammed shut after the emergence of an FA betting investigation into possible breaches from the player.
Still, the saga underpins Paqueta's value and quality that has left the best team in world football scrambling to augment their ranks with his talent.
Bowen might be the man of the moment right now but Brentford's drubbing was also Paqueta's first match back from injury that – surprise, surprise – coincided with an alarming drop in form. He's first-class. He's the cream of the crop.