After Michail Antonio became West Ham’s all-time Premier League top scorer, we take a look at three current players who could eventually take his crown.
West Ham’s 4-1 win over Leicester City last week saw Antonio score two goals to beat Paolo Di Canio’s record for the most goals scored in the Premier League by a Hammers player, with the forward now setting the record at 50 goals.
However, we look at three future West Ham stars who are set to make a huge impact at the club and that could potentially take Antonio’s mantle over the years to come…
Jarrod Bowen
West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has started the season emphatically. Despite not yet scoring, he has played a significant role in helping the team stay second in the league table after three games.
Bowen has scored nine goals for the club since he joined from Hull City for £20million back in January 2020, eight of them coming last season.
Having featured 56 times for the club already, Bowen is improving rapidly under David Moyes and at 24 years of age there is plenty of time for him to catch that record. It seems like the English winger is here to stay and Moyes even trusted him in the ‘false 9’ position at times last season.
If Bowen can keep up his good scoring form and improve on his last campaign, we could see him become a great scorer for the club over the next few years.
Ademipo Odubeko
Another star in the making is 18-year-old striker Ademipo Odubeko. The forward is currently out on loan with Championship side Huddersfield Town, but carries a lot of potential with him at such a young age.
Odubeko featured heavily on the first team’s bench last season, after we sold Sebastien Haller in January. He even featured a couple of times under Moyes in the FA Cup.
Despite not scoring, the youngster has showed incredible form in front of goal for the youth academy teams. He has scored 15 goals in 13 games for the U23’s, including two goals in three games already this season.
If he can impress on loan with Huddersfield, then he might even get the nod to play more in the first team. However, what we do know, is that he is definitely a player for the future.
Armstrong Oko-Flex
Another youth product to watch for the future is Armstrong Oko-Flex. The 19-year-old signed for West Ham this summer and has already impressed with the U23s this season.
The Ireland U19 international scored a hat-trick in front of David Moyes last weekend and even scored for the first team in a pre-season friendly last month.
Oko-Flex also appeared twice in the Scottish Premiership for his previous club Celtic last season, proving how exciting he could be.
If given the chance in the first team, he could potentially be a great player for West Ham. As predominately a right-winger, he could even follow in the footsteps of Michail Antonio and become West Ham’s all-time PL top goalscorer.