West Ham star ruffles feathers with as he lines teammate up for ‘perfect’ big-money Liverpool transfer

West Ham star Michail Antonio has got fans talking after labelling his in-form Hammers teammate Jarrod Bowen as the 'perfect replacement' for Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptians future at Anfield is widely believed to be coming towards an end with just a year and a half on his contract and major interest from big-money buyers in Saudi Arabia. Nuno Espirito Santo's Al Ittihad were reported to have bid £150 million for the Reds' star man this summer and could increase that sum to an eye-watering £200 million to secure the forward's services.

As the star proved with a brace against Everton in the Merseyside derby at the weekend, he is still a vital cog in Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool machine and any transfer would leave the side needing to find a replacement. The transfer mill has already thrown about a number of names as suggestions and West Ham man Antonio has even put his colleague up for the role.

Speaking on the BBC Sounds' Footballers Football Podcast, the striker said: "Jarrod Bowen is a bagsman. Everything he is touching is turning to gold right now. It's going to cost some serious dough!

"Man has just signed a seven-year deal. The money you get from Salah, you are going to have to give it to us! He's quality, left-footed and plays on the right-hand side like Mo Salah, so he is the perfect replacement, but hey it's not going to be easy to get him out of here! It won't be easy because that's a seven-year contract man has just signed."

Bowen has enjoyed an eye-catching career at West Ham since joining in 2020 and already has six goals to his name this season, only one fewer than Salah.

However, West Ham supporters weren't all so impressed by Antonio's endeavours to theorise behind their key player's potential exit. One X user said: "Why are clubs letting players speak about things like this while they’re still at the club?"

Another added: "Isn't this Antonio's usual way of expression? My only issue is he spoke about a subject I don't think he's allowed to!"

Others agreed with the Hammers striker, even praising the star for sharing his real thoughts on Bowen's future. One social media user wrote: "Don't see the problem? He's bigging up his team mate and saying that if Liverpool are interested in him it would cost them. Absolutely nothing controversial. You want players to be robots and just give us all the cookie-cutter answers they're media trained to do?