'He's exceptional and a real role model' - Jürgen Klopp's praise for Mohamed Salah
Jürgen Klopp acclaimed Mohamed Salah as a ‘real role model’ after the forward took his tally to 30 for the season by striking in Liverpool’s 4-2 win at Manchester United on Thursday.
The Egyptian marked his 200th appearance for the Reds – a number remarkably achieved in fewer than four seasons – with his 124th goal, racing clear and netting with a trademark finish to put the outcome beyond doubt at Old Trafford.
Salah is now joint-top of the Premier League goalscoring chart with Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane on 21 and is firmly in contention to claim the Golden Boot for the third time in his quartet of campaigns at Anfield.
Asked during his pre-West Bromwich Albion press conference where the No.11 ranked in terms of his best ever signings, Klopp replied: “Top – absolutely top, but it is not about signing. You can sign a player but then we all are responsible, so the player [is] obviously as well and the coaches, to make it happen.
“Let me say it like this: two players, there’s Robert Lewandowski, who I signed for a different amount of money years ago – well, not years ago, but it feels like – who had an incredible development from a different level, but an incredible development.
“With Mo, from the guy who scores from time to time and is a really good football player to this goalscoring machine is a massive development.
“He is an outstanding signing, but for sure the way he developed, the way he treats himself, the game preparation, the training preparation, training attitude and all these kind of things, that’s exceptional.
“That’s a real role model and he deserves all that, absolutely.”