Liverpool's Salah replacement and Klopp's 'favourite player' aces Anfield audition

Suraj Radia

• 21 Dec 2023 22:02 GMT
• 4 min read

The thought of replacing Mohamed Salah may be a triggering thought for Liverpool but the Egyptian superstar’s natural successor could be a player admired by Jurgen Klopp and already with a habit of scoring at Anfield.

Liverpool thrashed West Ham this week in the Carabao Cup in a one-sided affair but the visitors’ only moment of joy came through Jarrod Bowen, who netted for the second time against the Reds on Merseyside this season, having also done so during a 3-1 defeat in September.

Bowen’s strike – on his 27th birthday – came on the back of comments from Klopp before the game, who gave the Hammers star the impressive label of being his ‘favourite player besides my own’, highlighting just how highly the Liverpool boss rates the right winger.

Salah has attracted significant interest from Saudi Arabia, who see the talismanic forward as the ideal player for their sporting project, having tried and failed to tempt Liverpool to part ways with him during the summer for fees in excess of £100 million.

There will undoubtedly be further attempts to bring Salah to the Gulf in the coming months and, while Liverpool have no desire to part with their club legend and best player, there is an awareness that the 31-year-old may be open to the opportunity of making the move.

If and when that day comes, Liverpool could do far worse than pursuing Bowen and providing the platform for the England international to take the next step and prove his credentials at the top level.

Why Klopp could opt for ‘tried and tested’ Bowen over glamorous wonderkids

Bowen has scored 52 goals in all competitions since joining West Ham for £22m in 2020 and he is already three goals away from posting his best ever Premier League output in a season, having netted ten times in 16 games this season.

Although Liverpool may be tempted into a wonderkid like Takefusa Kubo or a different prototype altogether such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, signing a proven Premier League goalscorer in a similar mould to Salah could allow Klopp to continue with his current style without a transitionary rebuild with untested talents.

Some may question the pedigree and ability to fill a void like Salah’s, and perhaps there is no true replacement to one of Liverpool’s greatest players ever, but Bowen’s humble beginnings in non-league to winning European trophies and playing for his country proves that he is not intimidated by a step up and could easily continue his upwards trajectory.

West Ham would not be willing to sell their star man on the cheap, particularly having tied him to a new seven-year contract in October and with the knowledge that Liverpool would be ready to splash out on a Salah replacement.

However, while Bowen remains committed to the Hammers, it would be difficult to resist the lure of becoming Salah’s successor at Anfield and making a deserved step up to challenging for titles and playing in the Champions League.

West Ham would also be aware of Bowen’s situation and may reluctantly facilitate a sale, particularly knowing a fee in excess of £70m could help fund a rebuild around the younger Mohamed Kudus, who is the club’s top scorer this season after Bowen despite limited minutes behind his teammate in the pecking order.