Mohamed Salah: The new King of the Kop at Liverpool

By Carl Markham

He is Liverpool's Egyptian King and Mohamed Salah's remarkable debut season has already elevated him into the ranks of Premier League royalty.

The winger-turned-goalscorer has ripped up the record books at his club and remains on course to break some more before the end of the campaign.

It is incredible to think when he arrived from Roma in the summer for £38million there were plenty who questioned the signing, based on his disappointing spell at Chelsea.

There is more incredulity when one recalls in the early weeks of the campaign that the most common complaint about him was that he wasted a lot of opportunities.

Had he been as prolific then as he has been in the second half of the season there is every chance the 25-year-old could have smashed the Premier League record for goals in a single season past the 40-mark.

But while Salah has been stealing the headlines almost every week with his goalscoring exploits, which included four in one game against Watford, and is a hero in his homeland after helping them to World Cup qualification he remains humble, quite reserved and a reluctant interviewee.

In many ways he is the perfect player to have the spotlight trained on him as he is the first to deflect praise onto his team-mates for the role they play in his success, which fits in well with the ethos manager Jurgen Klopp has developed among a tight-knit squad.

The same cannot be said about the fans, however, who when not celebrating another one of his goals have been busy composing numerous songs in his honour: from one based on James' Sit Down, including the aforementioned Egyptian King reference, to another celebrating Salah's Islamic faith.

And there has been much to celebrate. Salah is a multi-dimensional forward who scores goals of every type.

His potent left foot is his most dangerous weapon with his modus operandi of cutting in from an inside-forward position on the right and whipping a shot into the far corner something of a trademark.

However, he is adept in the air, highlighted by his clever, deft header against Bournemouth last weekend, which brought up his 40th goal of the season in all competitions.

His tightly controlled, composed, juggling effort at close range against Porto in February still defies belief even now and the joy of his breakaway goal against Arsenal from the halfway line was only enhanced by some wag superimposing the Benny Hill theme tune over the top as he was unsuccessfully chased by a pack of defenders.

But what has equally pleased Klopp is how quickly he has learned and integrated himself into his way of working.

The likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andrew Robertson were held back for the early part of the season as they acclimatised but there were no such measures needed for Salah.

In his first few matches Klopp's touchline frustration at the winger's inability to track back and help out with their pressing game when possession was lost was plainly evident.

But it was a fleeting issue as Salah soon understood, and embraced, the work ethic which makes the team tick.

He may not have the superstar profile of some of the previous winners of the PFA Player of the Year award but his contribution has been solid gold.