Arne Slot told to bring Jurgen Klopp’s ‘favourite player’ to Liverpool in £100m swoop

Arne Slot is set to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager and the club will back the Dutch coach in the upcoming transfer window.

One of the areas the Reds are looking to bolster is the winger position – which will only become more important if they sell their top talisman Mohamed Salah.

Saudi club Al-Ittihad saw a £150m bid rejected for the Egyptian international last summer and have now returned with a fresh offer of £100m (including add-ons.)

The official line is that Salah is not for sale and he wants to stay at Anfield for another season, but Liverpool may be minded to accept the offer given he’s only under contract until 2025.

The Reds’ CEO of Football has begun drawing up a shortlist of potential replacements for the 31-year-old and one name that keeps cropping up is West Ham star Jarrod Bowen.

The England star has been in sensational form this season, netting 16 goals in 34 Premier League appearances so far, making him the division’s joint-ninth top scorer.

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Salah out, Bowen in for Liverpool?

As reported by TEAMtalk, Liverpool have had Bowen on their radar for some time but luring him away from West Ham certainly won’t be easy.

Klopp would love to see Bowen make the switch to Anfield, however, and admitted as much in an interview in December.

“[Bowen is] probably my favourite player besides all my players I have to say,” Klopp said. “It’s great what he is doing and how he has developed.”

He only signed a new contract at the London Stadium in last October – which is valid until 2027 – and the Hammers will demand a huge fee for his signature.

Indeed, it has been claimed that West Ham are well aware of Liverpool’s interest in Bowen and would only entertain offers in the region of £100m.

They also face the prospect of losing another star player in Lucas Paqueta this summer – who remains a key target for Manchester City – so selling both of them in the same window would be a huge call to make.

Julen Lopetegui is set to replace David Moyes as Hammers boss at the end of this season, so he will no doubt have a say in any potential exits.

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John Aldridge tells Liverpool to snap up Bowen

Liverpool have been linked with a shock move for former Everton star Anthony Gordon in recent weeks.

However, former Reds player John Aldridge believes that Slot and Co should prioritise a move for Bowen instead.

““Do we need a new striker? I presume, and it’s only me presuming, that the club will have to let Mohamed Salah go because of financial reasons,” Aldridge told the Liverpool ECHO.

“Do we need a new striker? I presume, and it’s only me presuming, that the club will have to let Mohamed Salah go because of financial reasons,” Aldridge told the ECHO.

“I don’t think we could get Watkins because Villa are pretty much in the Champions League now. They’re going to keep their players, but they’re two players who would fit the bill for me.”

It will be interesting to see if Liverpool take Aldridge’s advice and launch a bid for Bowen in the coming weeks.

£100m is a big price tag for the 27-year-old, but if the Merseysiders offload Salah for the same price, bringing Bowen in for that fee could prove to be a good bit of business.

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