Michael Owen Calls Jarrod Bowen the Perfect Replacement for Salah
Michael Owen believes Liverpool have already been handed the ideal answer to life after Mohamed Salah – and his name is Jarrod Bowen.
The former Liverpool striker has long championed the West Ham captain, and with the London club now relegated from the Premier League, the debate around Bowen’s future has burst into the open.
Owen’s verdict: “absolute perfect replacement”
Owen, speaking on Premier League Productions, did not bother with caveats when asked whether Bowen should be the man to step into Salah’s role at Anfield.
“I’ve said for a long time, I don’t make any apologies, Mo Salah has gone now from Liverpool, I think Bowen is the absolute perfect replacement for Mo Salah at Liverpool,” he said.
This isn’t a new crush. Jurgen Klopp openly admired Bowen during his time at Liverpool, and the winger has been linked with a move to Merseyside in several previous windows. Those rumours never hardened into a transfer, largely because Bowen looked so embedded in West Ham life.
“Under normal circumstances, no. But he is such a West Ham lad, he’s the captain, he’s adored by the club, his family are all from the area,” Owen noted, underlining just how deep the roots run.
Relegation changes the picture
West Ham drop, but Bowen’s stock rises
West Ham’s slide out of the top flight has not dragged Bowen down with them. Far from it. In a struggling side, he still delivered nine goals and eleven assists over the campaign – numbers that will not have gone unnoticed higher up the table.
Owen made the point bluntly: a player posting those returns should not be preparing for Championship away days.
“However, Jarrod Bowen is incredible, you’ve got a short career, I mean he has to be playing in the Premier League,” he said.
The logic is ruthless but simple. A 27-year-old England international, in his prime, just off a season where he carried much of West Ham’s attacking threat, suddenly available because of relegation. For the so‑called Big Six, that is exactly the kind of opportunity that rarely appears without a premium price tag.
“If something really, really interesting [is offered]… If an opportunity came along for him like that, to play for Liverpool, then even the most ardent West Ham fan couldn’t begrudge that,” Owen insisted. “Instead of playing in the Championship, go to one of the best teams in the world and fill Mo Salah’s boots, it’s really exciting for him.”
That is the crux of Owen’s argument: Bowen doesn’t just fit Liverpool; he fits the vacancy left by one of the greatest forwards in the club’s modern history.
Bowen’s stance: loyalty first, future later
For now, Bowen is not playing along with the transfer noise.
Speaking after West Ham’s relegation was confirmed on Sunday, the captain cut a sombre but clear figure. The wounds were fresh, and talk of escape routes did not sit well with him.
“Listen, it’s still very, very raw. Talking about futures is disrespectful to the club, the fans, everything like that,” he said when asked directly about what comes next.
His message was not coded. It was a statement of duty.
“This club deserves to be in the Premier League. That’s our aim now, this season is done, our aim now is to get back in the Premier League. That’s as simple as it is.”
He repeated the theme, doubling down on the sense that, at least publicly, his attention remains fixed on West Ham’s recovery rather than his own escape.
“Like I said, it’s disrespectful to everyone to start speaking about futures and saying what’s going to happen,” Bowen added. “Like I said, I want this club to be in the Premier League. It’s a club that means so much to me, that’s given me so much, so my vision is getting this club back in the Premier League.”
Those words will resonate in east London. They also buy him time.
Time for West Ham to decide how hard they want to fight to keep their talisman. Time for Liverpool and the rest of the elite to decide just how much they believe Owen is right.
Because if Salah’s era at Anfield really has closed, the question is no longer whether Liverpool need a new right-sided match-winner.
It’s whether they dare let “the absolute perfect” replacement slip through their fingers.
