Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp extolled the performance of winger Mohamed Salah, saying he hopes the Egyptian star stays at Anfield for a "very long time, amid ongoing speculation over Salah's future with the Reds. The 28-year-old has performed superbly since joining Liverpool in the 2017 season, achieving great results with the Reds as well as helping the team win two long-elusive titles: the Champions League - in 2018-2019 - and the Premier League - in 2019-2020. "It's just a bit awkward when I have to praise my own players, which I like to do to be honest, but especially in Mo's case, the numbers speak for themselves," Klopp was quoted as saying on liverpoolecho. Salah scored 24 goals so far this season in all competitions, including 17 goals in the Premier League to lead the league's scorers list with two goals ahead of Man United forward Bruno Fernandes. "Mo is not only a goalscorer, he has developed as a footballer as well. He is a very, very important player for us and hopefully he will be that for a very long time of course," Klopp added. Recent media reports suggested that Salah is on the radar to join one of the La Ligua's topflight teams Barcelona and Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. The Egyptian star publicly expressed respect for the two Spanish sides but says he remains focused on excelling with the Reds. “I think Madrid and Barcelona are two top clubs,” Salah said during an interview with Spanish publication AS in December. “Who knows what will happen in the future, but right now I am focused on winning the Premier League and the Champions League with Liverpool again,” the Liverpool star added. The Egyptian star started his overseas football career with Swiss side Basel in the 2012 season before joining English Premier League giants Chelsea in 2014, where he warmed the bench with rare appearances. Salah left topflight Chelsea to join Italy Serie A outfit Fiorentina on loan where he scored six goals in 16 appearances with a superb performance that attracted the attention of most European teams. In 2015, Salah joined Serie A side Roma, where he scored 29 goals in 65 appearances with the team in two seasons. He stardom skyrocketed when he finally returned to the English Premier League, but this time with Liverpool in the 2017 season. He became Liverpool's all-time top scorer in the Champions League and garnered other prestigious trophies in the English Premier League. Liverpool are currently in the 6th place in the English Premier League's teams table with 40 points after playing 25 games so far this season. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
