When it comes to deciding on their future together, Jarrod Bowen and West Ham have a tough decision to make.In August, the club will play in the Championship for the first time since 2011 following their relegation from the Premier League. As a result, they needs to raise £150million ($202m) in player sales.Despite Bowen being their most saleable asset and his preference to remain in the top flight, there is hope from the club’s hierarchy that the 29-year-old forward will remain at the London Stadium to spearhead West Ham’s immediate return to the Premier League.Bowen, who has four years remaining on the seven-year deal he signed in 2023, scored nine goals and recorded 11 assists in 2025-26. But he was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup.If Bowen decides to extend his six-and-a-half-year spell in east London, perhaps he can take inspiration from Sir Trevor Brooking, who was once in a similar predicament.The West Ham legend was part of the side that suffered relegation to the second tier in 1978. But after choosing to stay, Brooking remained an England international, and he memorably scored the solitary goal in the 1980 FA Cup final against Arsenal and led West Ham back to the top flight the following season.Brooking’s loyalty further cemented his place in West Ham folklore. Of that 1977-78 squad, captain Billy Bonds and other senior figures such as Frank Lampard Sr and David Cross stayed. But in later years, many did not display the same loyalty to West Ham.Take Joe Cole, Paolo Di Canio, Glen Johnson and Frederic Kanoute all leaving in the summer of 2003 after West Ham’s relegation to the Championship, with Jermain Defoe leaving for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2004 and Michael Carrick, the now Manchester United manager, remaining at the club for one more season before his switch to Spurs in August 2004.Bowen is an exception compared to Mateus Fernandes, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Crysencio Summerville, Jean-Clair Todibo and Alphonse Areola, who are expected to depart in the forthcoming months.Bowen has repeatedly expressed his appreciation to West Ham for taking a chance on him when others were less inclined to do so. Since joining from Hull City for £18m in January 2020, he has scored 85 goals and has registered 63 assists across 280 appearances. Most pivotal was his winner in the UEFA Conference League final against Fiorentina in 2023.Bowen had an excellent individual season despite West Ham’s relegation (Julian Finney/Getty Images)“This club means everything to me,” Bowen told West Ham’s official website in August 2025 “West Ham, for me, is just everything I know. Just the loyalty, the love that you get, even when things aren’t going well, that makes it such a special club.”Sources with knowledge of the situation — speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their positions — say West Ham are yet to receive any enquiries for Bowen.The forward can also look to other countries for other examples of players who remained after relegation.Marcos Senna helped Villarreal regain their La Liga status after relegation in 2012. Renowned striker Gabriel Batistuta played in Serie B with Fiorentina in 1993 and helped them seal promotion at the first time of asking. After Juventus were demoted to Serie B in 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet stayed.Closer to home, Stuart Pearce, West Ham’s former first-team coach, stayed with Nottingham Forest after their relegation to the second tier in 1993, and played an important role in their return to the Premier League the following season. Other examples include Jack Grealish remaining with Aston Villa following their demotion to the Championship in 2016.