Liverpool have long been admirers of Jarrod Bowen, with the player frequently linked with the club every time questions have surfaced regarding the Egyptian’s future at Anfield.
The West Ham man remains a well-regarded quantity at any rate, with the club maintaining a watching brief on the ‘unbelievable’ (in Jurgen Klopp’s eyes, as relayed by the Evening Standard) forward amid ongoing speculation around the Merseysiders’ No.11 and Saudi Arabia.
“Salah is a high-volume attacker, averaging a minimum of three shots per game across his whole Premier League career since joining Liverpool,” Mark Carey and Andy Jones wrote for The Athletic.
“His driving runs from the right flank into productive areas are always purposeful. No Premier League player logged more attacking carries — that is, a carry of five-plus yards that results in a shot or chance created — than Salah’s 58 last season.
“Within a far less possession-dominant side, Jarrod Bowen is among the top 20 by this metric, with 41 attacking carries putting him above the likes of Antony (38), Jack Grealish (33) and Raheem Sterling (30). Whether it is driving to the byline to create for others, or dropping the shoulder to get a shot away, Bowen has a similar desire for providing end product once he gets going.
“Bowen is a player Liverpool admire and have been watching for a number of seasons. How he would fare in a team that dominate the ball more and need to break down low block defences more often would be a key question.”
With a bid potentially rising up to £150m soundly rejected in the summer, the riches of the Saudi Pro League aren’t expected to shuffle away quietly forever, however, and fans can likely expect a renewed attempt as early as January.
READ MORE: Journos explain how LFC could sign Bukayo Saka as a Salah replacement
If we’re being entirely realistic, of course, our decision-makers have surely come to the conclusion that attempting to lure a quality replacement for Salah – especially if we’re going down the route of a like-for-like – in January is about as unrealistic as selling the former Roma man in the same window.
If we’re smart about our business, we’ll be looking to take advantage of at least another full year of the winger at L4, with a few more months of analysis leaving the recruitment team with the clearest conclusion possible as to who would be best placed to take the reins.
Bowen has started the campaign tremendously with four goal contributions in as many games and appears to be roughly as durable.
Whether the England international could prove to be as reliable an output merchant as our Egyptian, however, will be difficult to determine.
#Ep89 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️