When it comes to summer transfers, most people have their eyes firmly on the business that the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are doing for the most part. The deals that saw the likes of Alvaro Morata, and Tiemoue Bakayoko join Chelsea, the huge amounts of cash spent by City on Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy and Manchester United’s purchasing of Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic drew everybody’s attention but could it be the deal Liverpool did to bring Mohamed Salah back to the Premier League that trumps the lot?
Salah’s first spell in the Premier League didn’t go exactly to plan for the Egyptian. He signed for Chelsea in 2014 after a terrific spell at FC Basel saw him his 20 goals, assisting 17 in 79 appearances. Jose Mourinho was a huge admirer and signed him for a reported 11 million pounds. Salah never really got the chance to impress at Stamford Bridge though, making only 19 first team appearances and was shipped out on loan to both Fiorentina and Roma, with the latter going on to sign him permanently in 2016.
After getting back to his best at Roma, it was no surprise that Premier League interest arose once again and Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool moved quickly to tie up a deal that could potentially top £40 million for the 25 year old. The pace merchant is already on his way to making that look like money very well spent after scoring a remarkable 12 goals in 17 outings, assisting 4. With how he seems to contribute in every game he plays, Salah is certainly looking like one of the best buys of the season so far.
Many people will be asking why the likes of Salah, De Bruyne and Lukaku never really hit it off at Chelsea but have gone on to be great players elsewhere and it could all be down to the system they’re playing in. In Salah’s case, he plays wide of a front three, on the shoulder of the defenders more often than not. Salah’s main talent is undoubtedly his pace and Liverpool and Klopp utilise this so effectively in the final third, just as they do with Sadio Mane on the other side of the striker. Liverpool are all about breaking quickly, with rip roaring speed in the final third and that suits Salah down to the ground.
Going forward, Salah will be integral in any success Liverpool have this season. The prize they seem to be aiming for is another top 4 finish and after an indifferent start to the campaign, they are finally showing what they’re really about on a regular basis and have marched up the table. The Egyptian has proven himself capable against even the best sides in the division and if Liverpool shore up their leaky backline in the January window; I am betting that Salah’s goals could become even more important as the club look to re-establish themselves as one of England’s top four sides.
