Liverpool have been linked with a move for West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen this summer, amid Sadio Mane's rumoured departure.
Mane could potentially call it quits on his Liverpool career after six years at the club, with Bayern Munich in hot pursuit of the forward. The German club have already had two bids rejected for the 30-year-old, the most recent being a £30 million offer including add-ons.
If Mane was to leave, Jurgen Klopp would need to find a replacement, and Bowen has been a player strongly linked with a move to Anfield throughout the season. The 25-year-old has impressed for West Ham this season through the middle or on the right of the Hammers attack, grabbing 12 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League this season.
READ MORE: How Darwin Nunez could perform at Liverpool next season as Sadio Mane's replacement
Having risen through the English football pyramid, Bowen also impressed on his England debut last week against Hungary. So, if Bowen was to sign for Liverpool ahead of next season, how could the forward perform?
We ‘signed’ Jarrod Bowen for Liverpool
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Jarrod Bowen to join the Reds, whilst the likes of Divock Origi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Takumi Minamino, Nat Phillips, Sadio Mane and Neco Williams all departed the club on permanent deals. This is how the English forward got on in his first season at Anfield in our 2022/23 season simulation.
After initially starting the season out of the starting XI, Bowen made himself undroppable, making 47 appearances in all competitions, predominantly at striker. In those 47 games, Bowen managed an incredible return of 22 goals and 14 assists, the second-best in the squad.
Bowen grabbed 14 goals and 10 assists in 31 league appearances, an improvement on the season just gone with West Ham. On top of that, he scored eight and assisted three in 12 Champions League games, averaging a rating of 7.43 per game in all competitions.
His average rating was the second-best in the Liverpool squad, only behind Salah who had a ridiculous season, averaging a rating of 7.86 per game whilst grabbing 31 goals, 12 assists and 17 Player of the Match awards.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Liverpool XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what the Reds' best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Liverpool best XI (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Eriksen; Salah, Bowen, Diaz.
Luis Diaz joined Bowen and Salah in the front three after scoring 26 goals in the 2022/23 season, with Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino struggling for starts. Thiago had another season riddled with injuries, meaning Christian Eriksen made the best XI after signing on a free transfer in the summer.
So, how did Klopp's side perform in the league and cup competitions after signing Bowen ahead of the 2022/23 season? Let's take a look.
Liverpool's results with Bowen in the 2022/23 simulation
Despite losing just four games all season and ending the Premier League campaign as the highest-scoring team, Liverpool finished third in the table. Three points behind Chelsea and five behind City, the Reds' 10 draws throughout the season ultimately proved to be their downfall.
Eight of the 10 draws in the 2022/23 season saw Liverpool concede in the final 20 minutes to drop points. The addition of Bowen did see the Reds remain clinical in front of goal though, with Klopp's side scoring 20 more goals than winners Man City.
Deadly in front of goal, but the Reds were unable to win any trophies in the 2022/23 season, a real concern after coming close to winning four the season prior. A 3-2 aggregate loss to Chelsea saw the Reds eliminated in the semi-finals of the Champions League, with Real Madrid beating the Blues in the final.
The Reds were taken to penalties by Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw, and the shootout went down to the 'keepers, where Caoimhin Kelleher missed the decisive spot-kick. The Carabao Cup was also a disappointment, with the Reds being eliminated by Man City in the fourth round.
Overall this Football Manager 2022/23 season simulation predicts that if Liverpool were to sign Jarrod Bowen next season, the forward could have a fantastic individual season, but the forward's lack of big-game experience could cost the Reds, with his worst performances coming in vital stages of the season. Ultimately, Klopp's side won nothing in the 2022/23 season, with more than one attacker and an ageing Christian Eriksen needed to challenge against the ever-improving Man City.
Would you like to see Liverpool sign Bowen as Mane's replacement summer? Let us know in the comments!
