Liverpool writer James Pearce has explained how the club’s current transfer policy could have them on the lookout for younger, less proven talents.
While talking on The Red Sea Podcast, Pearce alluded to the recent links with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen. He explained that while this deal may not seem like the most exciting prospect, it does make sense.
He said: “When you look at him [Bowen], I think he does tick a lot of the Klopp boxes.
“Because the reality is, I think Liverpool buying the finished article with Alisson and with Van Dijk, that was almost an anomaly, really, because of the Coutinho money.
Pearce then went into more detail, describing the sort of approach Liverpool will probably adopt in the next few transfer markets: “I just think Liverpool will be in the market for, rather than the finished article, they’ll be in the market for what Sadio Mane was like four, five years ago when he came in, and similarly with Mo Salah.
“Those players who aren’t absolutely world-class, but they believe that with Klopp, and with the structure at Liverpool, that they can elevate them to that kind of level.”
TIF thoughts on Jarrod Bowen and Liverpool’s transfer goals…
With their current financial limitations, unless the club sells one of their stars – much like they did with Philippe Coutinho – it does seem likely that a more cautious approach will be adopted by the club.
But, as Pearce points out, signing players who aren’t yet considered to be a the top of the football pyramid, as they did with Mane and Salah, may work out well.
In Mane’s last season at Southampton, he managed 11 league goals and eight assists. Mohamed Salah only managed a couple of goals and four assists during his time at Chelsea.
Last season at West Ham, with eight goals and five assists, Bowen managed similar numbers to what Mane achieved at Southampton, and much better than Salah had ever managed in England.
If the Englishman did sign for the Reds, he too could have the quality to step up at a bigger club and prove his worth – much like we saw with Mane and Salah.