MERSEY Rush puts Salah alongside Barca legend and fears £200m star will become a wanted man
LIVERPOOL v MANCHESTER CITY
Liverpool’s all-time record goalscorer says it’s now up to his former club to make sure the Egyptian does not follow £142m Philippe Coutinho next out of the Anfield exit door.
As Salah prepares to face runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City on Merseyside, Rush (right, top) insisted: “On current form, I would place Mo Salah ahead of Lionel Messi (right, bottom) and Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s better than them at the moment.
“Mo is also the African Player of the Year, which, considering the standard of their players throughout Europe, is a great honour.
“There’s already been talk of Real Madrid looking at him – and who can blame them? In today’s inflated market, it wouldn’t surprise me if Liverpool one day received a £200m bid for him.
“Hopefully, he is happy where he is – after all, he only arrived last summer.
“There’s a time and a place to sell a player if the right money comes in, but, for Liverpool, it’s certainly not now.
“If they are thinking about winning the Premier League in the near future, then you can only achieve that with players like Salah. You can’t be a selling club.” Rush has been mesmerised by Salah’s displays, the 25-year-old having equalled Roger Hunt’s club record for most goals scored by the turn of the year. A brilliant double against Leicester took him to 23 goals in all competitions.
Rush added: “He has exceeded all expectations at Liverpool this season.
“Nobody expected him to score that amount of goals. He is able to get beyond defenders with his electric pace.
“Honestly, once he gets inside the penalty area with his speed and movement, I swear it’s Messi.
“He’s been unbelievable. You would pay anything to watch him – he just gets you off your seat every time he has the ball at his feet. Hopefully, he’ll be at Anfield for years to come because he can improve.”
Like Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, things didn’t work out during a spell at Chelsea, but Rush believes credit should be given to both players for battling back to make names for themselves.
Rush admitted: “Salah and De Bruyne have both done well to learn from their experiences. Chelsea, though, don’t really give young, untried players much of a chance.
“When Jose Mourinho was there, he wasn’t going to use the kids.
“Both Salah and De Bruyne were young at Stamford Bridge. They weren’t given a chance to shine. It was the same for Daniel Sturridge.
“A lot of players might have given up. Salah and De Bruyne didn’t – and they have been rewarded for all their hard work and mental toughness.” While De Bruyne went to Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg before arriving at Manchester City, Salah’s learning process continued at Roma before a £34m move to Anfield. Rush maintained: “Salah is now taking the Premier League by storm. “You just fear a huge bid somewhere along the line from a club like Real Madrid. Coutinho going was inevitable – he had been at Liverpool for five years and, for South Americans, it’s a dream come true to play for Barcelona or Real Madrid. “They always seem to be more at home in Spain than England. You can’t deny anyone a dream move. “Hopefully, right now, Salah’s dream is to carry on playing for Liverpool and to help the club win something.” Coutinho has gone, but Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk has arrived, much to Rush’s delight. Rush revealed: “I take my hat off to Jurgen Klopp and Van Dijk because I know that both Manchester City and Chelsea wanted him. But he was never going to go to either club because his heart was set on joining Liverpool. “The way Klopp sold the club to him was fantastic. You hear Jose Mourinho going on about how he needs more money to win the Premier League. “Instead of moaning about that, clubs like United and Liverpool should use their great history to sell the club to a player. In the end, history should always prevail – make the player believe he can be part of that fantastic tapestry.
“Liverpool can tell someone like Van Dijk that, if he helps them win the League, he will be looked upon as a god.
“The Liverpool supporters knew that Van Dijk only wanted to join their club, even though he could have gone to City and Chelsea, who right now have a greater chance of winning things.
“Instead, he chose Liverpool and that’s why the fans love him. It’s not just scoring the winner in the FA Cup against Everton, it’s because he only wanted to play for Liverpool, despite the money thrown at him elsewhere.”
Now, Rush fancies his old club to stop the City juggernaut in its tracks at Anfield this afternoon.
He said: “Liverpool have got the equipment to have a go at Manchester City.
“I was at the game at City earlier in the season.
“Until Sadio Mane got sent off, I think that Liverpool were the better team.
“Salah had two chances to put them ahead, so they showed glimpses of what they are capable of doing to City.
“They have it in them to win this. Liverpool fans will be up for it.”