Michael Owen Calls for Liverpool to Sign Perfect Salah Replacement Jarrod Bowen

Michael Owen has thrown down a clear challenge to Liverpool’s recruitment team: if you’re serious about replacing Mohamed Salah, go and get Jarrod Bowen.

The former Liverpool striker believes the West Ham captain, freshly relegated from the Premier League, is tailor‑made to take over on the right of Liverpool’s attack – and says the opportunity is now too big for both player and club to ignore.

“Absolute perfect replacement”

Owen has long admired Bowen’s game, and he didn’t soften his stance after West Ham’s slide out of the top flight. Speaking on Premier League Productions, he doubled down on a view he says he’s held for years.

“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,” Owen said.

That endorsement comes after another standout campaign from Bowen in a struggling side. While West Ham unravelled, their captain kept swinging: nine goals, eleven assists, and a level of consistency that has repeatedly drawn glances from the Premier League’s elite.

Under normal circumstances, Owen argued, Bowen’s deep ties to the club might have kept him rooted in east London.

“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 said. “If there’s any big player that is going to be relegated and stick with it then you can see it.”

Relegation changes the equation. Careers are short. Prime years don’t wait.

“However, Jarrod Bowen is incredible, you’ve got a short career, I mean he has to be playing in the Premier League,” Owen continued. “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.

“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: Liverpool need a right‑sided forward who can score, create, press, and carry the weight of expectation. Bowen, in his eyes, ticks every box.

If that call from the elite does not arrive, Owen sees another path.

“However, if an opportunity doesn’t come from one of the big boys like that, then maybe he’ll fight his way back into the Premier League with West Ham.”

Bowen’s response: loyalty first, future later

For now, Bowen is not playing the transfer game. Just hours after West Ham’s relegation was confirmed, he faced the cameras and pointed firmly back towards the club that made him captain.

“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.

“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 didn’t duck the question so much as park it. The emotion of relegation, the sense of responsibility, all came through as he spoke.

“Like I said, it’s disrespectful to everyone to start speaking about futures and saying what’s going to happen,” he 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 are not the words of a captain agitating for the exit. They are the words of a player who understands exactly what West Ham’s fall means to the people around him.

But football is ruthless. The Championship awaits. A proven Premier League and England international, still in his peak years, sits at the heart of a relegated side. Owen can see the logic. So can every recruitment department in the top six.

Liverpool, searching for a new right‑sided talisman after Salah, must now decide: do they trust the judgement of one of their former greats and move for Bowen, or watch a ready‑made fit walk into a rival’s dressing room?