Michail Antonio has said that one of his West Ham teammates would be a ‘perfect replacement’ for Mo Salah if the 31-year-old leaves Liverpool in the foreseeable future.
The Reds have been linked with Jarrod Bowen in recent weeks and months, although he may now be quite difficult to attain, having recently signed a long-term contract at the London Stadium which runs to 2030 (whufc.com).
However, that didn’t stop the 26-year-old’s Irons teammate from talking him up as a high-quality candidate to become the Egypt superstar’s eventual successor at Anfield.
Speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast, Antonio said of Bowen: “He is a bagsman. Everything he’s touching is turning to gold right now, but hey, it’s going to cost some serious dough, man just signed a seven-year deal! All that money you’re getting in from Salah, you’ll have to give that to us!
“Obviously, he’s quality, left-footed, plays on the right side like Salah so he probably is like the perfect replacement but it isn’t going to be easy to get him out. It won’t be easy because that’s a seven-year contract man has just signed.”
Bowen has certainly had a strong start to the season, scoring in three of his last four Premier League games and netting six in nine top-flight matches already in 2023/24 (Transfermarkt).
The West Ham maestro ensured his place in history with his 90th-minute winner in the Europa Conference League final earlier this year, demonstrating a big-game mentality which’d surely endear him to the Liverpool hierarchy.
However, that long-term deal he signed in east London earlier this month makes a transfer for him seem highly unlikely in the near future; hence why Anfield chiefs are reportedly eyeing up the likes of Leroy Sane and Nico Williams, with the latter set to become a free agent next summer as it stands.
For as long as Salah stays with the Reds, the right-winger berth in the team will be nailed down, but it’s hard to imagine that the Saudi Pro League won’t make another move for him in January, having had a £150m offer turned down a few weeks ago (The Guardian).
The point will eventually come that Liverpool will need to replace the club legend, but hopefully it isn’t any time soon. Whenever that unwanted juncture does arrive, Bowen might be worth considering if he’s still showing the form he’s displayed in recent months.
#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️