Liverpool star Mo Salah’s situation is similar to that of Philippe Coutinho’s… and we all know how that ended
IT is the burning question and the nagging doubt for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans alike.
Not so much whether or not Mo Salah can reproduce this season’s heroics on a consistent basis over the years ahead. The answer to that is pretty clear — a definite yes.
The major issue for them is whether he’ll continue to do so in a red shirt at Liverpool, or a white one as a Real Madrid Galactico.
Salah’s displays for Liverpool have been phenomenal. It’s reaching the stage where it’s pointless making comparisons with heroes of the past because he’s outdoing them all.
And ironically it is his performances on Merseyside which could — and almost certainly will — give them a huge problem before too long. Are you telling me when the rebuilding begins at Real — and they need it — he won’t be at the top of their wanted list?
And while it’s blindingly obvious Liverpool will put up the fight of their lives to keep him — point out he’s contracted to 2022 with another deal in the offing — it’s a battle they will find hard to win.
It’s one thing if a kid who’s grown up in Kirkby or Crosby, dreaming of having his name sung by the Kop, is wanted by someone else. It’s another one entirely if the player has grown up in Cairo, is the poster boy of his whole country and who has no lifelong loyalty to England, for all it is going great there now.
We’ve seen it so many times before. Real set their sights on someone and invariably they always get them.
MO-ST WANTED Salah a transfer target for Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG as they eye world-record £200MILLION move
And no amount of defiant stances matter in the end.
I’ve a horrible feeling that, as far as Liverpool and Klopp are concerned, they will have another Philippe Coutinho situation on their hands sooner rather than later. And we all saw how that one played out in the end with the Brazilian heading off to Barcelona for £145million.
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Until that day arrives, though, let’s enjoy every minute of seeing Salah light up the Premier League. He’s doing plenty of it.
Four more goals at the weekend made it an astonishing 37 in 43 games for club and country this season. One fewer than Lionel Messi’s managed in four more games.
Not bad for a lad who was shown the door at Chelsea after Jose Mourinho signed him from Swiss side Basel as a 21-year-old, then hardly ever played him.
The way Salah, still only 25 by the way, subsequently dealt with that rejection is superb. That’s what we should focus on, too, rather than the fact Mourinho let him slip the net.
When he first came to England, it was a massive, massive step up, to one of the highest-profile clubs in the world’s highest-profile league. There were still moments in the rare chances he got when he looked fantastic. I remember seeing him score a stunner when Chelsea beat Arsenal 6-0, for example.
AMAZING MO
MO SALAH scores a goal every 85.5 minutes in the Premier League this season — making him the second deadliest marksman in Europe’s top five leagues.
Only Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski hits the net more regularly than the Liverpool man (every 81.3 mins). However, Salah has the most league goals
Salah is also on course for the most Prem goals in a 38-game season. The current record of 31 is held by Alan Shearer (1995-96), Cristiano Ronaldo (2007-08) and Luis Suarez (2013-14).
With 0.93 goals per game (28 in 30) and seven PL matches left to play, Salah could finish on a record 3
Salah has 36 goals in all comps — more than any Liverpool player in their debut season. Fernando Torres was the previous record-holder (33 in 2007-08)
But at that stage of his career, you couldn’t blame Jose for not using him when he had the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard, Andre Schurrle and Willian.
If Salah had been at Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal or even Spurs, there’s every chance it would have been the same story.
Don’t forget, when Liverpool paid £34.3m to sign him from Roma, plenty of cynics thought it was too much. They wrote him off as a Chelsea reject, said it’s one thing doing it in Italy, it’s another doing it in England. He never got the credit as a potential superstar and, while I was interested to see him return, I never for one moment thought he’d have the impact he has.
Some people have asked if he will get even better, but that’s not the issue. You can’t produce more technical ability, better movement, greater assists and goals than he is already.
The point is whether he repeats it year in, year out.
And if he does, whether he’s gunning for a Premier League or La Liga title winners’ medal.