Liverpool have chosen their Mo Salah heir and it’s very big news for West Ham after intense speculation over star duo.
When Jurgen Klopp rocked the football world by announcing he was stepping down at Liverpool it raised eyebrows at West Ham.
Although West Ham and the Reds were at one time both flirting with the same managerial target in Ruben Amorim, it was felt Klopp’s Liverpool departure would have a huge upside for the Hammers.
West Ham fans are all too aware of the departing Liverpool manager’s longstanding admiration for top scorer Jarrod Bowen.
For the avoidance of any doubt, though, Klopp reiterated it earlier this season when he admitted West Ham’s star man Bowen is his favourite player outside of Liverpool.
Bowen has been linked with Liverpool for a number of years now. Reports have previously claimed Klopp wanted him as the replacement for Mohamed Salah.
Bowen and Kudus linked with Liverpool
West Ham supporters had been unaffected by the fresh Liverpool links to their star man since he signed a new seven-year deal in October.
But rumours about release clauses sewed seeds of doubt in the minds of many.
And speculation has continued to link Liverpool with Bowen despite Klopp’s Anfield exit.
It’s not only Bowen either. Brilliant West Ham star boy Mohammed Kudus is allegedly a Liverpool target too.
Kudus has been an absolute revelation for the Hammers since joining from Ajax for just £38m.
The 23-year-old underlined his supreme quality with a stunning overhead kick against Man City at the weekend.
Give Me Sport claimed last month that Liverpool are eyeing a £100m move for Kudus in the summer.
And it has since been confirmed that Kudus has an £85m release clause active from summer 2025.
The interest, as with Bowen, centres around the expected departure of Salah.
Well now Liverpool have chosen their Salah heir and it’s very big news for West Ham.
Liverpool choose Salah heir and it’s big news for West Ham
Because the Reds hierarchy appear to have moved on from Bowen and Kudus.
According to reports from France, PSV star Johan Bakayoko is now being lined up by Liverpool as Salah’s replacement under new head coach Arne Slot.
“Bakayoko looks like he could be one of the players to herald a changing of the guard as the club are reportedly in the market to bring in a Mohamed Salah (31) replacement,” GFFN and SportsZone report.
“The recruitment team in Merseyside alongside their new manager appreciate the PSV right-winger.”
This will come as a massive relief to West Ham fans.
There was also a welcome statement on his future from Kudus himself at the weekend amid the speculation.
Relief for Hammers
The Hammers may not be out of the woods yet of course.
Slot will be well aware of Kudus’ talent having competed against him in Holland.
But if Liverpool do sign Bakayoko and he proves to be a success then it can only improve West Ham’s chances of keeping Kudus and Bowen out of Liverpool’s clutches.
Ironically it was at West Ham a few weeks ago where Salah and Klopp had a row on the touchline which sparked fresh speculation over Salah’s future.
Liverpool’s Egyptian king has been linked with a move to Saudi again.
It remains to be seen whether Klopp’s departure sees him stay. But talk is that Liverpool may be tempted to cash in on the soon-to-be 32-year-old.