Liverpool's Next Move: Jarrod Bowen as Salah's Replacement
As Liverpool brace themselves for the post-Mohamed Salah era, one former Anfield great has a clear idea of where the club should look next: east, to the London Stadium.
Michael Owen, speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, nailed his colours firmly to the mast. For him, West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen is the standout candidate to inherit Salah’s right flank and responsibility.
“How did you know? I told a couple of my mates yesterday that he’s the one player I would sign,” Owen revealed.
West Ham “adore the man, and rightly so,” he said, but if the Hammers go down, Owen sees a rare opportunity. In his eyes, Bowen would be the perfect fit for Liverpool.
Owen’s conviction is not casual punditry. He has worked closely with the 29-year-old and came away stunned by the range of his game.
“I think he’s absolutely brilliant,” he said. “I was lucky enough to do a striker masterclass for a TV show with him last season and I couldn’t believe how good he was with both feet, taking corners, his pace and he's a top finisher. He’s a brilliant player who I would take to the World Cup. I don’t want to upset West Ham fans but if they go down, he would be my ideal choice to replace Salah.”
That last line cuts to the heart of Liverpool’s summer. Arne Slot will walk into Anfield knowing he must replace not just a star, but a system. Salah has been Liverpool’s reference point on the right for years: goals, assists, gravity. The attack bends around him.
And right now, Owen doesn’t see anyone in the squad who can truly mimic that threat.
“They are going to have to do only a little bit of surgery on the team; they have spent a fortune [last year],” he said, referencing a £446 million outlay last summer. “I know they recouped a lot of money last year, but they spent a lot of it, and I doubt they have any left to spend it again. But they are going to have to replace Salah, that's the first port of call.
“There's no one in the team currently who is like Salah, a right-sided attacker,” he continued. The names are there, but not in that role. Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike offer different profiles and are working through injuries. Rio Ngumoha is pushing from below. Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz bring quality in other areas. The right flank, though, remains a specialist vacancy.
That is where Bowen enters the conversation so forcefully. A direct runner, two-footed, aggressive in the box, comfortable hugging the touchline or driving inside – the traits that made Salah indispensable are the same ones Owen sees in the West Ham man.
The problem? Price and circumstance.
A move for Bowen would be complex even in a normal window. If West Ham stay up, they retain all the leverage over a player they “adore”. If they go down, Liverpool’s chances improve, but not necessarily their finances. Salah’s departure on a free strips away the kind of fee that once funded deals for the likes of Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino. Slot and the recruitment team may have to rediscover that more creative, opportunistic side of Liverpool’s transfer operation.
Jermaine Pennant, another former Liverpool winger, is already worried about what Slot will have to work with.
“I don't think we're going to have that massive budget,” he warned. The optimism, for him, lies in what is already on the books. “We've got two good defenders coming back, which is a blessing. We'll have Conor Bradley coming back as well, which is great news as well for next season.”
Pennant’s view is that Liverpool must back Slot, but also recognise the limits.
“We've got to give them money because the same Slot system is not going to work,” he said. With this squad, he believes a tweak in approach is essential. “So with the group that we've got, I personally believe that a new style, the 'old Liverpool way', would get a better tune out of these players and better performances and better results.”
So the picture is clear, even if the route is not. Liverpool need a right-sided specialist. They need to replace Salah’s output and aura. They may have to do it without the comfort of a blockbuster budget.
In that landscape, Owen has nailed down his answer: Jarrod Bowen, if West Ham fall. Whether Liverpool can turn that admiration into a deal – and whether Slot can reshape the attack around a new right-sided talisman – will define how smoothly the club steps out of Salah’s shadow.
