Michael Owen has made the Liverpool Bradley Barcola debate simpler than the fee chatter around it. He said the winger is clearly talented, but warned that Liverpool should not feel pushed into a deal if Paris Saint Germain are asking for too much. The reported numbers are all over the place, but the one constant is that this is being treated as a major outlay.

Owen's view on the fee

Speaking to GOAL, Owen said: "He's obviously very good, but he's going to come at a massive price. I don't think they have to win it. There's other great players out there."

That is the line Liverpool supporters will keep coming back to. TEAMtalk reported that Barcola could cost more than £100m, with PSG valuing him at £128m in one report and £145m in another. Liverpool want the fee pulled closer to the £100m mark rather than accept the higher asking price.

Barcola's output does not shut that argument down. He contributed 13 goals and six assists in all competitions last season, and the sampled season data shows 3 goals in 8 appearances, with no assists in 413 minutes. That is good production, but it is not the sort of output that makes any valuation untouchable.

Bowen as the alternative route

Owen was even more pointed when he talked about Jarrod Bowen. "You know what I would have done a couple of months ago if I was Liverpool - that's try to do everything to sign Jarrod Bowen," he said. He also added that Bowen could have been a good move to replace Mohamed Salah.

The case for Bowen is built on something more grounded than a glamour chase. He is described as having 85 goals and 63 assists in 280 games for West Ham, which is the kind of track record that explains why a former Liverpool striker thinks he would have been the safer option. The sample data also shows 1 goal and 1 assist in 98 minutes, a small sample but one that at least points to direct end product.

Emile Heskey backed the fit side of the argument too, saying Bowen is a different type of player and would probably help the formation because he works a little harder than Salah. That does not make Bowen a like-for-like answer, but it does explain why his name keeps surfacing whenever Liverpool's wide options are discussed.

Barcola may still be the more explosive talent. Owen's point is that Liverpool do not need to pay anything close to a blank cheque to find value, and Bowen's record gives that view real weight.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →