Carlton Cole urges Tuchel to hand Jarrod Bowen England recall despite Championship status

Thomas Tuchel has been urged to recall Jarrod Bowen to the England squad after the West Ham captain was again overlooked for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures, despite a strong start to the Championship season.

Former West Ham and England striker Carlton Cole has made a public case for Bowen’s inclusion, arguing that playing outside the Premier League should not automatically disqualify a player from international consideration. Bowen, 29, has scored four goals and registered three assists in the Championship this term, helping Nuno Espírito Santo’s side sit second in the table heading into the international break.

“I always want [Bowen] in the England team,” Cole told Mirror Football. “It gives us a little bit of prestige as West Ham and our captain being in the England team — he deserves it.”

Tuchel’s squad for England’s four Nations League matches includes Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha alongside World Cup-era forwards Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon, leaving no room for Bowen, who also narrowly missed out on a place in the World Cup squad over the summer.

Cole, who earned seven England caps before his own international career ended following West Ham’s relegation in 2011, pushed back on the widely held view that only Premier League players merit senior consideration. “They always talk about ‘if you’re not playing at the highest level, the elite level as the Premier League, you shouldn’t be anywhere near the England team’. I think that’s false,” he said. “If you seem good enough, you should be playing in the England team. It doesn’t matter what level you’re playing at.”

Bowen would not be without precedent as a Championship player earning senior caps. Goalkeeper David James remained part of the England setup while playing second-tier football for West Ham during the 2003/04 season, and more recently Jay Bothroyd and Jack Butland were called up by Fabio Capello and Gareth Southgate respectively while outside the top flight.

England’s expanded September and October international break — the two windows have been combined this season — sees Tuchel’s side face Czechia twice, as well as Spain and Croatia. Several high-profile players, including Declan Rice and Marcus Rashford, have withdrawn from the squad through injury or load management, with Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner drafted in as replacements.