Liverpool have admired West Ham United forward Jarrod Bowen for some time, according to Reds writer and expert Neil Jones.
Writing in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing, Jones explained, however, that even if a deal could make sense for Bowen to replace Mohamed Salah, it might be that that particular ship has now sailed due to the player’s age.
Bowen is a fine player who clearly has what it takes to play for a bigger club, though, and Jones admits he could see some other similar move happening for the England international at some point.
Liverpool did also have a genuine interest in Bowen at some point, with the left-footed attacker who tends to play from the right flank looking like he could be a solid like-for-like replacement for Salah, at least tactically, even if not in terms of pure ability.
Bowen scored against Liverpool at the weekend, prompting Jones to discuss the player and his past LFC links.
“Jarrod Bowen impressed with a goal for West Ham against Liverpool at the weekend, and he is a player Liverpool admire, and have done for some time,” Jones wrote in this week’s Daily Briefing column.
“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.
“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.”