Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has revealed he’s been “totally surprised” by Mo Salah’s performances over the years at Liverpool since his 2017 arrival.
Speaking to DAZN, Owen couldn’t hide his admiration for the Egyptian superstar. He’s been left amazed by the forward’s meteoric rise to stardom at Anfield.
He explained that “you would be a liar if anyone said they expected 40+ goals [from Salah] in his first season.
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“Partly because we had seen him at Chelsea. He certainly didn’t look like a goal scorer there. He started to look like a goal scorer in Rome.”
Owen continued, “but to come and score 40+ goals in your first season, and then continually do it, I am totally surprised".
The BT Sport pundit believes Salah is evidence of the fact “you can improve as a finisher” despite his general belief that goal scoring is “instinctive and a natural born thing".
The former Liverpool star went as far as to suggest that if “Salah continues this level for a few more years, we will be talking about one of the greatest of all time".
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Salah has already established himself as an undisputed Liverpool legend.
Since joining the Reds, the Egyptian has been the face of Jürgen Klopp’s project at Anfield.
He has grown to become the standard bearer for goal scoring forwards in the Premier League.
But one senses this season will be a very important one for the 30-year-old.
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He has recently been handed a new deal making him Liverpool’s highest paid player of all time and is now the club’s clear talisman off the back of Sadio Mané’s departure.
There’s thus an onus on Salah to maintain his breath-taking goal-scoring record this term, as Jürgen Klopp’s most dependable goal scorer.
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And if he can once again walk away with the Golden Boot at the end of the season, Owen is right, there’s a case to be made that Salah is in fact the Premier League’s greatest ever player.
He started the season well from an individual perspective, scoring a late equaliser for Liverpool against Fulham on Saturday.
But the Reds will need even more from their star man if they are going to be able to challenge Manchester City for the title this term.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Mohamed Salah, Michael Owen, Liverpool, Premier League