Michael Owen Critiques Liverpool's Summer Transfer Strategy
Michael Owen has looked at Liverpool’s summer so far and doesn’t like what he sees.
The former Anfield striker has questioned the club’s transfer strategy in the wake of Mohamed Salah’s departure and Hugo Ekitike’s long-term injury, insisting the Reds have taken an unnecessary gamble in the market and missed a glaring opportunity in Jarrod Bowen.
Salah gone, questions piling up
Liverpool have already moved for £34.5million left-winger Victor Munoz from Osasuna and are locked in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over France international Bradley Barcola. There is also interest in teenage Champions League winner Ibrahim Mbaye.
For Owen, that doesn’t go nearly far enough.
Asked if he was surprised by Liverpool’s relatively quiet window, he did not hesitate: “Absolutely, yes. Losing Mo Salah and his goals and assists must be a concern right now. Liverpool need to look to add more depth in the forward areas.”
Salah’s exit has ripped out the club’s most reliable source of end product. Ekitike’s injury has stripped away another option. Right now, the attack looks lighter than it has at any point in the last decade.
That is where Owen believes Liverpool have already slipped up.
“I would have gone for Bowen”
West Ham United’s relegation briefly placed Jarrod Bowen in a shop window that every elite club in England could see. Liverpool, in Owen’s eyes, should have been at the front of the queue.
“I would have gone more Jarrod Bowen as one player to come in as I believe he is very talented, Premier League-proven and could have fitted in really well and could have scored plenty of goals,” he said.
Instead, Bowen stayed put and signed a new deal at the London Stadium. The door closed. A ready-made, top-flight wide forward with goals in his boots slipped away.
Liverpool’s focus, Owen believes, has narrowed onto Barcola.
“Right now it seems Liverpool are putting all their time in looking to secure Barcola from PSG, although at a huge price tag it may mean that one of the attacking players may have to make way for him to join.”
It is a calculated risk: heavy investment in a high-ceiling winger, but potentially at the expense of current depth. For a squad already shorn of Salah, that calculation feels sharp-edged.
“I expect Liverpool to sign another attacking player as Mo leaves a big void and Liverpool do need to strengthen,” Owen added. The message is blunt: one more forward is not a luxury, it is a necessity.
Big-money duo under the spotlight
The scrutiny does not end with incoming targets. Owen also turned to the two £100million-plus signings already on the books: Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.
Isak’s first season on Merseyside was shredded by a broken leg and lingering fitness issues that kept him out for four months. Wirtz, the highly touted attacking midfielder, battled adaptation problems and never quite found his rhythm.
“He had a tough time last season,” Owen said of Isak. “That kind of injury does take a lot of time to recover from and sometimes you only recover to the player you were, not one that can push on even further.
“But if Isak can find the same form that he did for Newcastle, then he can definitely show his worth for Andoni Iraola.
“He is hugely talented as shown for Newcastle and did look good in the World Cup, so hopefully he can be a top striker next season and score plenty.
“With (Florian) Wirtz as well now having one season under his belt, we hope he can find good form.”
The implication is clear. If Liverpool do not replace Salah’s numbers from outside, those two must drag them up from within.
The Scouse heartbeat under threat
Beyond the front line, another issue gnaws at Owen: the future of Curtis Jones.
The midfielder is into the final year of his contract and has been repeatedly linked with a move away. Inter have so far failed to match Liverpool’s valuation, while Galatasaray are also interested.
For Andoni Iraola, the prospect of losing Jones is more than a tactical problem. It would leave him without a single senior Scouse player in his dressing room.
Owen, who came through Liverpool’s academy and knows exactly what that badge means to a local kid, is uneasy.
“It’s always nice to have homegrown players playing for Liverpool. The fans feel it when you see local players come through the Academy and shine for the first team,” he told the ECHO.
He pointed to other clubs and other stories to underline the emotional weight of those decisions.
“But look around at other clubs, Jack Grealish came through at Villa and left and got stick, the same with Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool when he left.
“So it’s difficult, but I do have to say, I was a local lad who came through the ranks and played for Liverpool and you could feel it was great.”
The tension is obvious: the hard edge of elite recruitment against the soul of a club that has always cherished its own.
Liverpool still have time in this window. Time to land Barcola or another forward. Time to decide Jones’s future. Time for Isak and Wirtz to prove their price tags.
But time, as Owen’s words make clear, is not the same as certainty.
