West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen heaped praise on summer transfer window signing Malick Diouf after the Senegalese defender turned in an impressive performance in the Hammers’ 2-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League summer series.
Bowen, who bagged a goal and assist during the game, was full of admiration for the new signing: “It was a brilliant ball from Malick; both goals were down to him, the quality he has got you can see that.
“What I like is his character; he’s humble, a brilliant guy, and he’s only been here a couple of weeks.
“I’m excited to see more when he continues doing it.”
Diouf was heavily involved in both of West Ham’s goals and earned himself an assist when Jarrod Bowen tucked home from the 20-year-old’s superb low cross.
The Senegalese left-back signed from Slavia Prague for a fee of £19 million and looked excellent going forward for the Hammers, with his crosses causing Bournemouth plenty of problems.
Diouf created West Ham’s first real chance of the game, with an excellent aerial cross finding Jarrod Bowen, whose blocked shot was recycled by the England international, who teed up Nicolas Fullkrug inside the six-yard box, who finished into an empty net.
The Hammers had been nearly anonymous until then, with Bournemouth dominating the early proceedings but failing to make their chances pay.
Evanilson and Ilya Zabarnyi spurned glorious chances as they both hit the woodwork before Fullkrug’s goal opened the scoring against the run of play.
Bowen’s strike in the 68th minute settled the game as West Ham ended their Premier League Summer Series campaign on a high and put pressure on Manchester United, as a loss for the Red Devils by more than three goals would see Graham Potter’s side crowned champions of the pre-season tournament.
Both West Ham and Bournemouth have one more pre-seasongame prior to their opening 2025/26 Premier League fixture, with the former hosting Lille and the latter taking on Real Sociedad next weekend.
Written by Riley Taylor
INMR FOOTBALL 
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