Merson urges Liverpool to sign £31.5m Prem star who is ‘forward version of Milner’

Paul Merson has encouraged Liverpool to sign West Ham United attacker Jarrod Bowen, as he is an “outstanding player”.

The 25-year-old shone for Hull City as a youngster before he joined West Ham in 2020 in a deal potentially worth £25m.

Bowen enjoyed his best season to date in 2021/22. He grabbed twelve goals and twelve assists in the Premier League as West Ham finished seventh.

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The forward made his debut for England against Hungary in the UEFA Nations League last week.

Liverpool are known to be admirers of Bowen. Earlier this month it was reported that West Ham are preparing to offer him a new contract.

His current deal expires in 2025 and transfermarkt value him at £31.5m.

Jurgen Klopp’s side signed Luis Diaz in January and they are the frontrunners in the race to buy Benfica forward Darwin Nunez. Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are all out of contract in 2023.

Merson thinks Bowen would be a “great squad player” for Liverpool:

“I still believe he’s underrated. He’s an outstanding player and has gone from strength to strength since swapping Hull City for West Ham – I can’t believe it took so much time for Gareth Southgate to call him up,” Merson told Sportskeeda.

“When West Ham have a big game coming up, he’s a player – along with Declan Rice – who gets rested and that just shows how much he’s grown in stature. Come to think of it, he reminds me of a forward version of James Milner – reliable, honest and works his socks off for the team.

“He’s been linked with a move to Liverpool and at the moment, I think he’d be a great squad player for them. He won’t go in there and take someone’s spot immediately, but Liverpool play a lot of games