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While their start to the season might suggest otherwise, West Ham United do have some seriously talented players in their squad.

For example, the likes of Freddie Potts, Lucas Paqueta, Mateus Fernandes and El Hadji Malick Diouf are all quality options.

However, when it comes to the Hammers’ most crucial player, it’s impossible to ignore Mr West Ham himself, Jarrod Bowen.

At his best, the Englishman is a force of nature, and so fans should be excited about reports linking the club with someone who could be Bowen 2.0.

West Ham target their next Bowen

Since moving to West Ham in 2020, Bowen has made 251 appearances for West Ham.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

In that time, he’s provided 53 assists and scored 77 goals, including what will probably be the most important he’ll ever score, the winner against Fiorentina in the Conference League Final.

There can be no doubt that the Leominster-born international has been one of the greatest transfers the club have made in the modern era, and so it’s exciting to see that they might be about to make a similar one.

At least, that is according to a recent report from Sports Boom, which claims West Ham are interested in Scott Twine.

The report goes further, revealing that the Irons are in fact plotting an £8m swoop to sign the Bristol City star as soon as January.

However, the East Londoners are unlikely to get a free hit at the Englishman, as the report has also highlighted Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers as interested parties.

With that said, even if it’s not a straightforward deal, West Ham should pursue Twine, as he could be a Bowen repeat.

Why Twine could be a Bowen repeat

Now, the first thing to point out is that, yes, Twine is primarily a midfielder and therefore plays a very different role and style compared to Bowen.

However, where he plays is not what makes this a potential repeat of the move for the 28-year-old.

Instead, one of the main similarities is that, were this deal to go through in January, it would be another example of the Hammers signing one of the most interesting English players from the Championship.

For example, in the half-season before his move to East London in 2020, the former Hull ace had racked up a monstrous tally of 17 goals and six assists in 32 games.

Appearances

17

Starts

17

Minutes

1318′

Goals

6

Assists

4

Goal Involvements per Match

0.58

Minutes per Goal Involvement

131.8

Now, the Bristol star hasn’t been that much of a goal threat, but considering he is a midfielder, his tally of six goals and four assists in 17 appearances is still hugely impressive.

Moreover, while it would be foolish to expect the Swindon-born ace to be as good for the Irons as their captain has been over the years, there is at least one area of the game in which he’s arguably world-class: free-kicks.

For example, four of his 11 goals over the last two years have come from them, and when you see the quality of them, it’s hard to disagree with one content creator who has dubbed him “the best free kick taker in the world.”

With that said, Bristol’s manager, Gerhard Struber, has made clear that the 26-year-old “is not only a free-kick monster; he is also a really good transition player.”

Ultimately, while he isn’t going to be as transformative as Bowen has been, Twine could be another excellent signing from the Championship for West Ham, and given his price tag, a bit of a no-brainer.

Wilson upgrade: West Ham hold talks to sign new CF who "can't stop scoring"

The inform striker could be the perfect addition to Nuno’s West Ham squad and a dream upgrade on Wilson.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 26, 2025

Sri Lanka are on the brink of elimination in the Asia Cup after sliding to their second successive defeat

Madushka Balasuriya23-Sep-20251:39

What went wrong for Sri Lanka’s batters?

An unbroken stand of 58 off 41 between Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz saved Pakistan’s blushes as they stumbled their way through a middling chase to eventually come away with a five-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi.Having been set a target of 134, on a ground where the average winning total batting first was 183, Pakistan collapsed from 43 for 0 in five overs to 57 for 4 in the ninth over. Not long after it was 80 for 5 in the 12th over, but Talat and Nawaz got the job done for Pakistan without any further scares.Related

Abrarcadabra – the spell that left Sri Lanka stupefied

Talat: Middle-order batting the hardest job in T20s

Asalanka: Sri Lanka have to 'get combinations right'

Talat finished on 32* off 30, while Nawaz struck 38* off 24, while for Sri Lanka the wickets were spread between Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera.Talat had earlier made his initial impact with the ball, in a double-wicket over, removing both Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka. It had followed a powerplay that saw Shaheen Shah Afridi pick up two wickets in the powerplay – he would end with three in total – as Sri Lanka lost their top three for the addition of 53 in the first six overs.From that point on Pakistan strangled Sri Lanka’s innings, as they only mustered 63 runs across the final ten overs. Kamindu Mendis’ 50 off 44 was the lone bright spot in an otherwise forgettable innings.The result means that Sri Lanka have lost two games, and are now dependent on Bangladesh beating India to keep their hopes of making the final alive.1:26

Aaron: Pakistan using three pacers up top made the difference

Afridi’s early impactPakistan got the best of the bowling conditions when the won the toss and elected to bowl, but it still needed to be utilised. Both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf found big movement early on, but that did not deter the Sri Lankan batters.Kusal Mendis clipped one in the air to short midwicket first ball, but Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera both found the boundary. Afridi then accounted for Nissanka as well, with the opener edging behind an attempted heave down the ground – one he had executed efficiently just a ball prior.Kusal Perera fell in the final over of the powerplay, miscuing one off Haris Rauf to mid-on. Sri Lanka had 53 runs in the powerplay, but Pakistan kept chipping away.2:09

Chopra: Talat holding one end up was important

Talat sets up the middle-overs squeezeDespite the loss of three wickets, Sri Lanka were still looking to attack – presumably reading that conditions were more than adequate for batting. However the two dismissals as a result of this approach, perhaps bordering on reckless at points, greatly reduced Sri Lanka’s ability to post a competitive total.The first was from Asalanka, who was batting well during his 19-ball 20, but ended up top-edging a short-arm pull to deep square leg. A ball later Dasun Shanaka nicked behind. Both those wickets came in Talat’s first over, and he went onto finish with 2 for 18 in his three overs.Sri Lanka’s scoring slowed to a trickle after that point, as they scored just 34 runs between overs six and 16. During this period Abrar Ahmed trotted through four overs, giving away just eight runs while picking up the wicket of Wanindu Hasaranga.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Talat and Nawaz finish it offSahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman seemingly broke the chase with a 45-run opening stand, but when Theekshana picked up both batters in the final over of the powerplay – the latter courtesy an outstanding one-handed grab at mid-off by Hasaranga – Sri Lanka felt they had a sniff.Two Hasaranga overs later though and Pakistan had lost two more, and suddenly Sri Lanka were well and truly in it.A 23-run stand between Talat and Mohammad Haris briefly brought back some control of proceedings for Pakistan, but when Chameera burst one through Haris to peg back the middle stump, Pakistan still needed 54 more with half their side back in the dugout.Thankfully for them, Talat and Nawaz navigated the chase shrewdly, taking minimal risks to take the game deep. It was only in the death overs that they opened up, with Nawaz looking to take on Hasaranga and then finally Chameera. A trio of sixes off the latter brought the game to a rapid close.

The Red Sox will leave no stone unturned in their pivotal Game 3 matchup against the Yankees on Thursday night.

When speaking with reporters ahead of first pitch from Yankee Stadium, manager Alex Cora revealed how Boston will use its bullpen behind 23-year-old starting pitcher Connelly Early—and they're using an all-hands-on-deck strategy.

Despite Brayan Bello starting Game 2, a 3-2 loss to New York, the 26-year-old will be in Boston's bullpen and available to pitch. Additionally, relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock—who threw a season-high 47 pitches across 1 2/3 innings on Wednesday night—will also be ready to roll.

"There's guys that are feeling it, but they're ready to go," said the skipper. "Let's put it that way."

Cora also didn't fully shut down the idea of ace Garrett Crochet taking the bump if necessary: "We'll see, but probably not."

Despite a willingness to bring in just about anyone from the bullpen, however, Cora also sounds like he has confidence in Early to give them a respectable outing from the jump.

"I think we're in a good place regardless,” he said. "Hopefully he goes deep into the game and we don't have to make too many phone calls to the bullpen."

Here's a look at who Boston will start in the field behind Early:

Red Sox Lineup for Game 3 vs. Yankees

1. Jarren Duran – LF
2. Trevor Story – SS
3. Alex Bregman – 3B
4. Masataka Yoshida – DH
5. Ceddanne Rafaela – CF
6. Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
7. Carlos Narváez – C
8. Wilyer Abreu – RF
9. Romy Gonzalez – 2B

Game 3's first pitch from Yankee Stadium is set for 8:08 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.