Mo Salah has quite some distance to travel before being recognized by many fans as the best footballer to come out of England. Many coaches and pundits already share that opinion and with 64 goals in just 36 appearances for Liverpool, that could prove to be a premature leap as he trails only Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Diego Costa of Chelsea in the goalscoring charts.
Salah’s style is such that he looks like a superhero walking around. He prefers to run with the ball in tight spaces while shooting with his “Flying Machine” (or “Been-Pilots” as he is known). He’s fearless, his feet can dance from one side of the pitch to the other and his mind is serene and purposeful. He never gives in to pressure, though, and is up for anything that’s asked of him.
He’s sure to be a mainstay in the Premier League for many years to come and he won’t necessarily be staying in England any time soon as he has also been linked with Chelsea and Real Madrid. For now though, he is being judged solely on his obvious potential. He isn’t just an extraordinary player — he has already become one of the best.
Salah’s personal history reveals that he played in only two youth teams before moving into professional football with Wigan Athletic in 2013. The age of 21, he made his debut for the Latics in the League Cup against Aston Villa. By then he was already an international for Egypt after winning the 2014 Asian Cup and he signed his first professional contract at Liverpool six years later.
Many wonder whether he was underrated because he only had Egyptian records rather than being on a better side. He first scored against Saudi Arabia with a header in a 2015 friendly. The fact that he started that game from the bench against a team like Saudi Arabia is remarkable and it’s hard to imagine he would have had that opportunity at a more conventional club.
Salah remains under pressure to perform because Liverpool has now qualified for the Champions League, so there are few opportunities to rest or play reserve players. Liverpool’s opening match against Tottenham Hotspur is without a doubt going to be an important game for both Salah and his team — whoever comes out on top will be favorites to lift the Premier League.
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