Liverpool is unlikely to revive their prior interest in Jarrod Bowen, the forward for West Ham United.
On Sunday, Bowen buried a beautiful diving header at The Kop end, serving as a reminder of why Liverpool had previously been interested in signing him.
Even before that goal, there had been rumors that the Reds would be considering the 26-year-old as a potential Mohamed Salah replacement. The’ship has sailed’ in reference to Liverpool and Bowen, according to journalist Neil Jones’ article in The Daily Briefing.
“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,” says Jones.
“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.”
For Liverpool, Bowen is passed his prime.
On paper, you’d have to admit that Jones is most likely correct in this case. Given Bowen’s advanced age, it seems doubtful that Liverpool will make a move for him.
That philosophy won’t be accepted by all of your supporters. The Reds actually have a fairly tight window to work with when it comes to signings as a result.
It would appear to be a rather erroneous way of thinking, particularly in Bowen’s situation. The international from England moved up through the divisions to get to West Ham. It would seem to be ideal to acquire him and then further develop him now that he is thriving.
On the other hand, he will certainly cost far more at his prime than the £20 million West Ham spent for him in 2020.
Now, if he were to be acquired as Salah’s straight successor, Liverpool definitely wouldn’t mind forking over the money. But regardless of how amazing Bowen is, Mohamed Salah is still better than him. If the Reds are going to spend a ton of money on a guy to replace Mo, he must be superior to Bowen.
Again, some people won’t appreciate that. Bowen has a history of success in the Premier League and appears to have room for growth. However, the truth remains that he would suddenly be an outlier in Liverpool’s hiring process.
We concur that Bowen’s ship has likely sailed because they have had such success with the tried and true and because there are so many other options available.