Michail Antonio has once again landed himself in hot water after making comments about Jarrod Bowen being a “perfect replacement” for Mohammed Salah.

Since starting the Footballer’s Football Podcast with fellow Premier League striker Callum Wilson, Antonio has found himself receiving criticism on multiple occasions for comments he’s made on the podcast.

Now, the latest controversy is that he has seemingly encouraged Liverpool to sign Jarrod Bowen as a replacement to Salah. His reasoning for this was that Bowen “is a bagsman. Everything he is touching is turning to gold right now.”

Antonio continued on, stating that it will take a ludicrous amount of money for West Ham to consider selling him “But hey, it’s going to cost a lot of dough, man has just signed a seven-year deal. The money you get from (Mohamed) 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.”

This seems like a bizarre thing to say considering the winger is one our most important players and, understandably, this has caused uproar amongst fans.

However, most people are seeing the quote without the context behind him coming out and saying what he has. The simple answer is that he was asked a question. He was asked who he thought would be the ideal replacement for Mo Salah so he gave an answer. It is not him encouraging Bowen to move, it is not him pushing Liverpool to make a move for our star man. It is purely him answering a question on a podcast and praising his teammate by comparing him to one of the best wingers in the world. 

You can’t blame people for reacting how they have, it seems like an outrageous thing to come out and say. But, when adding the context that many accounts have failed to provide, you quickly realise that it is nothing to kick up a fuss about. He was simply doing what he’s paid to do on the podcast while also encouraging Bowen for his amazing form.

By Charlie Bass