£20m player’s chance of moving to Liverpool may have now gone – journalist

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Liverpool are unlikely to rekindle their previous interest in West Ham United forward Jarrod Bowen.

Bowen sent a reminder of just why Liverpool have wanted to sign him in the past on Sunday, burying a lovely diving header at The Kop end.

Prior even to that goal, there had been whispers that the Reds may be looking at the 26-year-old as a possible successor to Mohamed Salah. But writing for The Daily Briefing, journalist Neil Jones reports that the ‘ship has sailed’ in regards to Liverpool and Bowen.

“He was looked at a couple of years ago, in particular, as a potential signing, and of course as a left-footer who plays on the right, and scores and creates at a decent rate, he’s certainly an option worth considering given the doubts over Mo Salah’s long-term future,” says Jones.

“However, he’ll be 27 in January, and while that’s hardly ancient, I would expect the Reds to be targeting players a little younger, with a little more potential and longevity at the top level.

“If you look at the age of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Salah and Sadio Mane when they moved to Anfield, they were all 25 or under, and I would expect that policy to continue going forward.

“Bowen is a fine player, and may well have a move to a top-six club in him, but I suspect the ship has sailed as far as Liverpool are concerned.”

Bowen past his best for Liverpool

On paper, you’d have to agree that Jones is probably right here. It feels unlikely that Liverpool will come in for Bowen primarily given his age.

Some supporters won’t agree with that philosophy. In truth it does leave the Reds with a pretty small window with which to operate in in terms of signings.

In Bowen’s case in particular, it would seem like a slightly misguided way of thinking. The England international has worked his way up through the divisions to arrive at West Ham. Now that he’s thriving, it would appear to be the perfect time to get him, and then develop him further.

But on the flip-side of that, at his peak, he’s now likely to cost a fair whack more than the £20m West Ham paid for him in 2020.

Now, if he’d be signed as the direct replacement for Salah, Liverpool probably wouldn’t mind paying the fee. The fact remains though that however good Bowen is, he’s no Mohamed Salah. If the Reds are going to pay big, big bucks on a player to fill in for Mo, he’s going to have to be better than Bowen.

Again, some won’t like that. Bowen is Premier League proven over a number of years and has the look of a player who could still improve. But the fact remains that he would now be an anomaly for Liverpool’s recruitment strategy.

They’ve had so much success with the tried and tested, and when there are so many other options out there, we agree that Bowen’s ship has probably sailed.