Liverpool Go to Both Ends of the Spectrum in Search for Mohamed Salah’s Successor

In Liverpool’s quest to replace Mohamed Salah, the dethroned Premier League champions are reportedly considering targets as varied as West Ham United’s grizzled captain Jarrod Bowen and Monaco’s tricky youngster Maghnes Akliouche.

Salah will leave a gaping void in Liverpool’s frontline. Given his diminished performances since signing a contract extension last April, the Reds have already discovered how difficult it is to win games without the Egyptian icon at his prolific best.

Even taking into account this campaign, which has comfortably been the worst of Salah’s nine-year Anfield career, the direct forward has averaged one Premier League goal or assist every 92 minutes for Liverpool. For comparison, Manchester City’s freakish forward Erling Haaland is the only regular in the division who can match that outrageous output this season.

Across Europe’s top five leagues, only eight players have averaged one direct goal contribution per game. The members of this elite pool of talent are either not for sale (Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Haaland), out of Liverpool’s price range (Michael Olise, Lautaro Martínez) or have already spent some time on Merseyside (Luis Díaz).

It will likely take the aggregate of several players to replicate Salah’s potent best, but Liverpool could help out the rest of their attack by signing the best right winger available to them. The club’s search has taken them down a number of intriguing rabbit holes.

Liverpool One of ‘Three Contenders’ to Sign Jarrod Bowen

• Club: West Ham
• Contract: 2030
• Age: 29
• Expected Price: Less than $81.6 million (£60 million)

Liverpool are expected to battle Everton and Newcastle United for Bowen’s signature in the event of West Ham’s relegation, per the Daily Mail.

The Reds are credited with a long-standing interest in the versatile forward, who was heavily linked with a move to Anfield while Jürgen Klopp was at the helm. Bowen remained at the London Stadium, earning club captaincy for a series of remarkably consistent seasons despite the fluctuating collective fortunes of West Ham. The England international has hit double digits for Premier League goals or assists in each of the last three seasons, a feat only four other players can match.

Bowen would represent a contradiction of Liverpool’s transfer strategy. The Reds have not signed a player as old as 29 since Thiago Alcántara was bought in the summer of 2020, and the Spaniard’s myriad of injury issues hampered his four years on Merseyside

However, Liverpool’s modern success has been built upon intra-Premier League purchases. The likes of Sadio Mané, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Milos Kerkez were all poached from English clubs operating in the division and came with the guarantee that they would know the demands.

‘Almost Certain’—Maghnes Akliouche Poised for Monaco Exit

• Club: Monaco
• Contract: 2028
• Age: 24
• Expected Price: Around $58.9 million (£43.3 million, €50 million)

Maghnes Akliouche ticks all the boxes that Bowen doesn’t. Half a decade younger than his fellow left-footed right winger, the France international is also expected to be cheaper than West Ham’s skipper. L’Équipe have valued Akliouche at around $58.9 million, billing his sale from Monaco this summer as “almost certain.”

The former Tottenham Hotspur target is reportedly a figure of interest for Liverpool, and understandably so.

While nothing can prepare a player for the challenge of the Premier League quite like playing in the competition, Ligue 1 is undoubtedly the closest physical match to England’s top flight.

After a slow start to the campaign while he balanced the demands of representing France for the first time in his burgeoning career, Akliouche has grown into the second half of the season. Since the end of February, the 24-year-old has directly contributed to seven goals across Monaco’s nine matches.

Akliouche’s qualities lie in and out of possession—something which even Salah couldn’t offer during Liverpool’s title-winning season. The feverish worker off the ball has earned the adoration of his manager Sébastien Pocognoli (and Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique, reportedly) for his industry as much as his dexterity.

“If you have a player like that who puts in so much defensive effort—not just tracking back, but also pushing forward—since he is the one who wins back the most balls high up the pitch in Ligue 1, it means he is a unique and modern player,” Pocognoli gushed earlier this season.

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