Bowen isn’t good enough. Decent. Put in some good performances this season and last, scored some goals but we need players to really push the envelope.
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Minamino needs to be sold. He’s done next to nothing since he’s signed. Needs to be improved upon.
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Of wingers/wide forwards in the league my options would be limited to;
Left side (right footers);
Allan Saint-Maximin (but Newcastle won’t be selling players they want to keep anymore)
Ismaila Sarr (could be good timing as due to injury and Watford being awful his stock is lower than ever, he usually plays right but as a right footer he’d be a left winger for us I think)
Gabriel Martinelli (probably a difficult one to get Arsenal to sell)
Right side (left footers);
Raphina (wouldn’t come cheap but closest to what we need the league has to offer that’s a realistic purchase ASM only one I’d rate better)
Bukayo Saka (Klopp may be able to kick him on to being a top line performer)
Generally I’d avoid our league, there’ll always be a ridiculous premium attached and all of the above are doubtful to achieve the level of Mane at his best, not sure most of them would hit the form Salah was showing at Roma before we bought him let alone after the immense improvement he showed when he arrived.
Bowen to me does not match up to what we want our wide players to achieve. I think we could do something with him as our most offensive option at the number 8 roles. He has certain elements Wijnaldum and Elliott did when they were playing as wingers before Klopp moved them to CM. I just seriously don’t think West Ham will accept anything like a reasonable price. They’re strong, he’s under long contract, they are financially stable and he’s a real important player to them. Don’t see him going anywhere and if we do need a player like him there’ll be far cheaper and possibly better from somewhere in Europe.
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Bowen is definitely good enough to be our 5th choice attacker, the problem is the value isn’t there anymore.
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I’ve highlighted Fabio Carvalho as someone with a lot of potential previously and I would love to sign him in addition to Diaz. Probably less pressure, or need, to get a deal done before deadline day now that we have the senior signing completed but getting him signed up to join in the summer would be anoth very exciting signing in my opinion.
It’s funny how quickly we seem to be overhauling the squad. For all the hand wringing about FSG not spending money and our best players getting older, just look at the first team players we have who are younger than 28…
Kelleher
Alexander-Arnold
Konate
Gomez
Robertson
Tsimikas
Keita
Jones
Elliott
Jota
Diaz
Minamino
Origi
Throw in a few youngsters who either have had a look in or potentially could next season… Van Den Berg, Morton, Gordon, the two Williams’, Bradley, Koumetio, Beck, Quansah, Clarkson, Balagizi, Frauendorf, Musialowski, Stephenson, Mabaya, Woltman and Blair.
Clearly, in my opinion, we are evolving the squad into a younger one while we squeeze everything we can from the older players. The progression plan is in place though. I’d love to get Carvalho in the summer as a replacement for Origi or Minamino and we will probably look for one more option in midfield.
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Is Carvalho more of an attacking midfielder or a winger, by the way? Either way, it would be great to add him to the squad if he’s as talented as people say (and it would be nice to finally open up a strong “connection” with Portuguese and Portugal-based players - in “opposite of Lazar Marković” sense of the word). I’d love it if he was a left winger like Mane, though, considering that we already have Gordon on the opposite flank, and Jones and Elliott as the advanced midfielders.
I also love your optimistic view on the squad age, though I’d probably set the age limit a year lower and leave out Keita aside from Minamino and Origi - I don’t expect any of them to be at Liverpool past this season. Heavens know I’d love it if Keita turned into Mitch Buchannon-style Iron Man and signed a lifetime deal at Liverpool but it ain’t happening…
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Luiz Dias would be top of my list but it seems I am a bit late as we have just signed him 
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For those midfield options by the way my preference would be Carney Chukwuemeka. If James McAtee leaves Man City I’d have him too.
Chukwuemeka will become one of the best players in the country.
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Just putting it out there, there is a player that Chelsea sold to Roma, who will turn 25 at some point in the summer, who’s currently averaging a goal every other game…
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Is this meant for the Everton or the Newcastle thread?
Totally OT, but it’s always bugged me about that scene that the two token black guys are stuck at the back.
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Bellingham and one more young holding midfielder at the next transfer window would make a very big statement of interest.
I will set up the Everton Cup later in the season, but it’s interesting to think what business we might have to do this summer.
We’ve just signed Diaz, and I’m pretty sure Carvalho is going to be lined up soon - all parties seem pretty keen on this one.
If Kelleher can be persuaded to stay another year, I personally feel we’ve got the best pair of keepers in the league
The centre of defence looks solid, as long as we don’t do something stupid and sell Joe Gomez.
The full backs are sound, with a slight question mark over Neco who might want to get off. I don’t think we’ll look for a replacement, with a few quality lads apparently coming through.
The front three is now five quality players, with a couple of quality youngsters to give further depth, which I think is sound. It becomes a question if we move on Sadio or Bobby, but I don’t think we should.
So midfield…we have Jordan, Thiago, Fabinho, Keita, Elliot, Jones, and Ox. There is also Morton who has impressed. I said already that I think we’re looking to add Carvalho to that group. I also think we’ll take bids for Keita and Ox. That leaves us with Fab, Thiago and Jordan, Elliot, Jones, Morton and Carvalho.
I think we’ll definitely want to add to that group, and to that end I’d like us to throw every bean at Dortmund for Jude Bellingham and call it a day.
I think Minamino, Ox, Keita, and Origi will be off, with a few academy lads released too.
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I really like Bellingham but he’d want to play right sided no.8 correct? From what I’ve seen of Elliot so far he is going to be worldclass playing the exact same position.
I’d be going for someone like Tchouameni, a quality no.6 would perfectly balance the squad and the only position we really suffer when the first choice is out.
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Almost all of Liverpool, City and Chelsea’s best signings in recent years have been in the 22-26 age range. That’s the sweet spot for value, short term success and long term gain.
I don’t understand where this recent phenomenon of signing ‘generational’ talents at exorbitant prices has come from. It’s proven to be an ineffective transfer strategy. Even Mbappe, who is by far and away the most successful one of these types of purchases, is a lesser player than Salah (moved in the same window hence the comparison) and cost 130 million more.
You take a punt on these kids on the cheap, or spend big if they’ve done it for 4 or 5 years, not after they’ve had 1 year of promising football.
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Absolutely agree. It’s cover/competition for Fabinho that we need.
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Probably the best bargain going why would you choose this as a comparison point? Not every player is going to progress to being considered with an argument as best in the world, especially not at that equivalent price point.
We’ve had loads of players good enough for us to use within our squad (some as starters) before that age range. Kelleher, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Jones, Elliott… going back a few years Sterling and Coutinho.
There’s no hard and fast rule. We need to look across the board.
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Because the year we were heavily linked with Mbappe, we signed Salah instead and picked up a better deal. Fair comparison I think.
Or, another one - Jota, Firmino, Mane and Salah were all signed for less than Mbappe. Add Diaz and you’ve gone slightly over. Not bad.
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I waited for Carvalho to sign but since it doesn’t look like it’s happening, I’ll say it anyway - I found it very funny that almost all the incomings for the next season will have been done over the last two summer windows and this winter window! I guess that only a midfield enforcer of sorts will be needed but, as it’s usually the case, any incomings aside from that one player would depend on players leaving. My money is on Firmino (or at least it’s because I want Mane and Salah to stay) but you never know.