Jarrod Bowen, too good for England. That was the cry from the travelling West Ham fans at Portman Road who watched their captain produce yet another masterclass en route to a final-day victory over relegated Ipswich.
The Hammers skipper responded to being shunned by Thomas Tuchel this week with a 20-yard stunner, after earlier setting up James Ward-Prowse’s opener, to show the England boss what he’ll be missing against Andorra and Senegal.
Bowen’s strike regained the lead after Nathan Broadhead’s second-half equaliser before Mohammed Kudus made sure of the win with a fine finish.
Bowen moved his wedding to Dani Dyer, daughter of actor and Hammers fan Danny, because he didn’t want it to clash with England duty, only to be left out of the squad by Tuchel.
What more could he have done? That’s now 13 Premier League goals for the season, six in his last eight games, ending the campaign as one of the most in-form players in the country.
Unsurprisingly, it was Bowen who looked most likely to make things happen in the early stages at Portman Road. He dribbled his way through a hoard of Ipswich shirts to get an early shot away.
He exchanged a one-two with Ward-Prowse to force a save from Ipswich keeper Christian Walton, a late call-up after Alex Palmer felt unwell before kick-off.
It was Bowen who then pounced on Sam Morsy’s blind back pass just before half-time and squared it to Ward-Prowse to slot home his first goal of the season.
Ipswich have long had their fate confirmed but Kieran McKenna’s side still played like a team wanting to enjoy their final fling before life back in the Championship.
Nathan Broadhead gave the fans something to cheer about when he collected the ball midway inside the West Ham half, left Jean-Clair Todibo stuck in concrete, before unleashing a shot past Lukas Fabianski into the bottom corner.
Hammers keeper Fabianski had been handed an emotional start for his final game for the club before leaving in the summer and had early been on hand to make a fine save to tip Broadhead’s earlier effort around the post.
But, like always, it was Bowen who saved the day for West Ham and Graham Potter when he picked the ball up on the right, cut inside and smashed his left-footed effort into the net to send the West Ham fans into full voice.
It’s a result that at least gives Potter some reasons to be cheerful going into a huge summer rebuild, one that is likely to be funded by the sale of winger Kudus, who came off the bench to add a third.
Kudus, who has an £85million release clause, raced half the length of the pitch, exchanged passes with Guido Rodríguez, before curling his shot from just inside the box past the keeper.