FLY MO
Klopp hails ‘world-class’ Salah and says the player is ready for take-off in the Premier League
JURGEN KLOPP insists Mohamed Salah has everything he needs, including a “world-class attitude” to thrive at Liverpool.
The winger arrived at Anfield from Roma for a club record £36.9million last month – a deal that saw him return to the Premier League after a previous spell at Chelsea.
Klopp (right, landing in Munich for a training camp) claimed the Reds will not be putting any extra pressure on Salah, even though the fee makes him the most expensive Liverpool player ever.
But the expectations from outside the club of what the 25-year-old Egyptian can add are huge.
Klopp backed him to cope, saying: “This is a player who has played in the Premier League, played in the top league in Italy, played in the Champions League.
“He knows how to deal with pressure. And that is just in the domestic game. He is probably the most important and special player for his country at the moment. Playing for Egypt brings pressure to perform because of the massive support and interest.
“Mo has carried this pressure as an international and risen to it.
“There is no extra pressure on him because of a fee and, even if there was from the outside, this is a player with the mentality, attitude and experience to deal with it and thrive.
“I love his attitude – it is world class. So the expectation is that he maintains the world-class attitude that has helped make him such an important player in European club football.”
Salah struggled to make an impression at Chelsea before reviving his career in Italy first with Fiorentina and then Roma.
But Klopp believes Salah can become whatever he wants and Liverpool is the ideal place for him to flourish. The German said: “A t Liverpool we have the culture and environment to help him reach his full potential. There is no ceiling to ambition here.
“I want him to help make us better and more successful as a team. He is as quick in his legs as he is in his brain.
“His pace and skills make him very exciting. Which team wouldn’t want a player that brings this?
“We believe this is a project that is very, very attractive to the sort of player who has the right attitude. A player who is hungry and greedy to be part of a special story – achieve special things.
“This player has the potential to be a very important person in our collective Liverpool story over the next few seasons.
“We will do everything to make him the best he can be.”