JURGEN KLOPP HAD little interest in comparing in-form Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to former Reds star Luis Suarez, insisting such discussions are for newspapers and social media.
Egypt winger Salah has been in sensational form since moving to Anfield in the close-season, and he took his tally of goals for all competitions to 17 with a double in Wednesday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Stoke City.
Such an impressive return has led some to compare Salah’s contribution to that of Suarez, who scored 82 times in a fruitful three-and-a-half-year spell before he departed for Barcelona in July 2014.
Reds boss Klopp welcomed Salah’s impressive form, but is keen not to match him up against Suarez.
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“I’m not interested, I respect Suarez a lot – he’s a Liverpool legend,” he told a news conference ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
“He’s a fantastic player, I like his attitude and style of play but he’s not a Liverpool player anymore.
“It’s not me that has to compare players or impact. That’s a story for the newspaper or social media, I’m not a little bit interested in that.
“He’s [Salah] in a good moment obviously, we hope he’ll stay in a good moment, but how could I still be surprised by this impact?
“He’s been here a few months, always involved in the team, very open for all the things, for him new things we did in training, the different intensity of the league to Italy.
“But he played already at the highest level [for Roma] just in another country, maybe it’s a surprise for English people that if you’re good in one league you can be good in another.”
Salah’s form has seen him touted as an early contender for the PFA Player of the Season award, but Klopp believes such talk at this stage of the campaign is foolhardy.
“The important word there is season, it’s not even been half the season,” he said. “If he continues like that he’s in the choice, in the mix up, but there are a few yards to go still.”
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Salah-Suarez comparisons are for newspapers and social media - Klopp
JURGEN KLOPP HAD little interest in comparing in-form Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to former Reds star Luis Suarez, insisting such discussions are for newspapers and social media.
Egypt winger Salah has been in sensational form since moving to Anfield in the close-season, and he took his tally of goals for all competitions to 17 with a double in Wednesday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Stoke City.
Such an impressive return has led some to compare Salah’s contribution to that of Suarez, who scored 82 times in a fruitful three-and-a-half-year spell before he departed for Barcelona in July 2014.
Reds boss Klopp welcomed Salah’s impressive form, but is keen not to match him up against Suarez.
“I’m not interested, I respect Suarez a lot – he’s a Liverpool legend,” he told a news conference ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
“He’s a fantastic player, I like his attitude and style of play but he’s not a Liverpool player anymore.
“It’s not me that has to compare players or impact. That’s a story for the newspaper or social media, I’m not a little bit interested in that.
“He’s [Salah] in a good moment obviously, we hope he’ll stay in a good moment, but how could I still be surprised by this impact?
“He’s been here a few months, always involved in the team, very open for all the things, for him new things we did in training, the different intensity of the league to Italy.
“But he played already at the highest level [for Roma] just in another country, maybe it’s a surprise for English people that if you’re good in one league you can be good in another.”
Salah’s form has seen him touted as an early contender for the PFA Player of the Season award, but Klopp believes such talk at this stage of the campaign is foolhardy.
“The important word there is season, it’s not even been half the season,” he said. “If he continues like that he’s in the choice, in the mix up, but there are a few yards to go still.”
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
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