Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, is effusive in his praise for Mohamed Salah, citing the forward's deep understanding of football and youthful physicality. Salah recently achieved a significant milestone by setting a new European goalscoring record for a player at an English club.
In Liverpool's 5-1 Europa League victory over Toulouse, Salah came off the bench to score his 43rd major European competition goal for the club, surpassing Thierry Henry's previous record of 42 for Arsenal. Klopp, whose team is set to host Nottingham Forest, is delighted to witness the evolution of Salah as a player with an increasingly well-rounded game while still possessing exceptional physical attributes.
Klopp remarked, "Off the pitch, he behaves like a grown man, but besides that, he's still a young player. He's so fit. I think if we scan him, the majority of his bones are probably 19 or 20 years old because he just keeps in such good shape. He has game understanding. That's what we try to give young players. They all know an awful lot about football when they finish their career at 35, but the earlier you can get this information, the more useful it is."
Klopp emphasised that Salah's understanding of spaces and how players react to him has improved significantly. Salah's ability to remain a threat even when he cannot score is highly valued. Klopp expressed that Salah's biological age doesn't match his performance, highlighting the exceptional condition the player maintains.
Salah, who has garnered interest from the well-funded Saudi League, has already netted nine goals in all competitions in the 2023–24 season. He is merely five goals away from reaching 200 goals in total since joining Liverpool in 2017.
Klopp described the 31-year-old as "world-class in all phases," and he expressed deep appreciation for Salah, envisioning that his true significance will become even more apparent after his football career comes to an end.
Liverpool enters the weekend three points behind the Premier League's top spot, striving to demonstrate their ability to balance a Europa League campaign with a domestic title challenge. Klopp acknowledged the challenges of this scheduling but expressed confidence in his squad's ability to adapt.
"So far, we could do it," he said. "Thursday-Sunday is not great, but it's something we've known really for long enough, and that's fine. A lot of the players who didn't play against Toulouse will probably start on Sunday, so for them, they had, if you want, a day off, just warming up and kicking a few balls. We will have a proper session to prepare for Nottingham. This is the rhythm we have this year. We should get used to it sooner rather than later."
