On Sunday afternoon, Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah scored a brace in the Reds pulsating 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Anfield. The former Chelsea ace has now scored 21 goals in the English top-flight this season.
He is quite simply one of the best players in the Premier League. He is also another that got away from Chelsea as a younger player.
Producing on a regular basis
There rarely seems to be a game go by Salah is not either scoring goals or creating goals. In fact, Salah has only failed to either deliver a goal or assist in six of his 25 top-flight appearances this season for the Reds.
The winger has matured into the sort of player who is consistently brilliant and is consistently a match-winner. At his previous clubs like Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma, he produced flashes of brilliance. However, he never produced the consistency of this season.
For a player to produce such exceptional consistency in the Premier League can be rare. If they do, then they are usually in ‘the world-class’ bracket. It would be hard to argue with that label for Liverpool’s top scorer.
Surely there has to be a downturn in form at some point for Salah. However, if there is not, then Salah has a big chance of winning the Premier League Player of the Year award, an award the forward is currently 6/1 joint-second favourite to win alongside Harry Kane of Tottenham and behind Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
Liverpool may struggle to keep Salah
When Mohamed Salah joined Liverpool last summer for a then-club record fee, there were question marks over his ability to cut it in the Premier League. He had limited first-team chances at Chelsea in the English top-flight in his last spell.
However, playing regular first-team football at the likes of Roma and Fiorentina seems to have helped the winger to develop his game to a high level. There are not many asking questions about the Egyptian’s ability now.
In fact, the inevitable speculation and rumours are already doing the rounds that Salah may be interesting Spanish giants Real Madrid. Liverpool are no longer in the same league as the European champions. However, very few clubs are in the same league as Los Blancos and their bitter rivals Barcelona.
Liverpool have recently shown how vulnerable they are to losing their star players when the Reds lost Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona. The Merseysiders may have been able to persuade the playmaker to stay for an extra six months or so. However, in the end, Coutinho left, albeit for an eye-watering profit.
Football wise it was a tough departure. Financially wise, it was a good deal. The harsh reality is that if Salah continues in a similar vein it will not be long before the two Spanish giants come knocking about his availability.
Most players find the lure of La Liga hard to ignore. I doubt Salah would be any different.
Liverpool needs to start winning trophies again
Liverpool needs to start winning big trophies again to keep their best players. Finishing in the top-four with Liverpool is no longer good enough to keep the Reds top stars happy on Merseyside.
The only glory in finishing in the top-four is that the Reds get to play against the best teams in Europe. However, at the minute, they are miles away from your PSG’s or Barcelona’s. Liverpool are just not good enough in defence to win the big trophies. They are great to watch under Jurgen Klopp, but the current team is not going to win a major trophy.
How long will players like Mohamed Salah stay at Liverpool and endure another season of mediocrity? The answer is not very long. When there are clubs who pay higher wages and have a better chance winning the big trophies interested in signing them.
Mohamed Salah is enjoying a great season and he does now look like the finished article at the top level. However, how long he remains at Liverpool is unclear, as the Reds do not yet look ready for challenging for the Premier League or Champions League crowns.
Should Mohamed Salah win PFA Player of the Year?
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