Michael Owen thinks that Liverpool should have looked closer to home when it came to finding a Mohamed Salah replacement, rather than pursuing Bradley Barcola.
Liverpool twice paid more than £100m for Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak as part of a £400m+ summer transfer window last year.
It did not do them a great deal of good, however, as Arne Slot’s side failed to retain the Premier League title they won at a canter in 2025.
So far this summer, the Reds have spent under £90m on defender Jeremy Jacquet and winger Victor Munoz… but Andoni Iraola’s team are not done by a long shot.
Indeed, it seems they are prepared to fork out more than £100m for the third time in a year as they plough ahead with trying to sign Paris Saint-Germain’s Barcola.
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Replacing Salah is going to be an unenviable task but there is no guarantee the 23-year-old, who bagged 19 goal contributions for PSG last season, is going to hit the ground running in the Premier League.
However, West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen scored 11 goals and added 12 assists last term as the Hammers dropped into the Championship.
‘Liverpool should have pushed for Jarrod Bowen signing’
The 29-year-old has repeatedly shown he can deliver at Premier League level and former Liverpool ace Owen thinks that England international Bowen would have been a safer bet earlier this summer.
Owen told GOAL, “He’s [Barcola] obviously very good, but he’s going to come at a massive price. I don’t think they [Liverpool] have to win it. There’s other great players out there.
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“You know what I would have done a couple of months ago if I was Liverpool – that’s try to do everything to sign Jarrod Bowen.
“I can’t believe he’s going to be desperate to play in the Championship. Looks like he is now, whatever he’s done. To replace Salah, I thought that could have been a good move.
“Barcola is obviously top class, but he’s going to come at a price. There’s obviously other great players around the world. It’s one that you can definitely see because they absolutely need some talented wide players.
“It’s not always that these players come available. If he is available and it’s an easy one to do, barring the big price tag, then yes, I can see that one being pushed by Liverpool.”
Bowen, who was not picked for this summer’s World Cup, has decided to stay at West Ham and try and get them promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Perhaps his age profile put off Liverpool but he may not have been as big a gamble as Barcola.
