It took a while for English football to catch on when it came to Mohamed Salah's star qualities, but Trent Alexander-Arnold knew early on Liverpool were onto something special
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Mohamed Salah (R) celebrates scoring a goal with Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold outlined early on that Mohamed Salah was a special talent at Liverpool
(Image: Getty Images)
We are now eight years into Mohamed Salah's Anfield career, and there isn't a football fan in Europe who isn't aware of his place in the Liverpool pecking order. Although it took time for some to truly appreciate his talent, Trent Alexander-Arnold knew early on the Reds had signed someone different.
After a failed spell at Chelsea, Salah went out on loan to Fiorentina and Roma, permanently joining the latter in 2016. One more year would pass before he was back on English shores with Liverpool, and the then-club-record fee of £43million looked like a snip within months.
Despite the struggles he endured at Stamford Bridge, it took no time at all for his Liverpool team-mates to cotton onto what they had signed. Academy graduate Alexander-Arnold, who recently left Anfield to sign for Real Madrid, gave his account of the Egyptian's tireless mindset.
"The first day of pre-season was just a running session," he told Copa90 back in May 2018 when asked what Salah is like off the pitch. "Not a race, just to see how far you can run really. It gets harder each lap you do so you end up doing quite a bit of running and you drop out when you can’t go any further.
"So everyone has dropped out and it’s just me and him left and he didn’t stop. Nobody was running against him anymore and it was just that hunger to win and to just carry on.
"That’s when I saw it. He just wouldn’t stop… it just seemed his limit was above everyone else’s."
Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah
Salah was critical in returning the Premier League title to Anfield in Arne Slot's first season at Liverpool
Fast forward seven years, and it's fair to say that remains the case among Arne Slot's current squad. Now 33, Salah was instrumental in guiding Liverpool back to the Premier League title in his manager's first season in English football.
And he did so while scoring 29 goals in the league to lift his fourth Golden Boot in England's top flight. Not only that, but the 34 goals he scored in all competitions was the second-highest tally of his career, trailing only the 44 he scored during his maiden campaign on Merseyside.
He also added 23 assists in all competitions to bring his tally up to 57 direct goal contributions in 52 appearances. And having played in every single league fixture this term, there appears to be plenty of life in him yet.
Fans were elated to see the winger pen a new two-year contract with the club in April, putting to bed any rumours of an exit this summer. Salah was being closely linked with clubs in Saudi Arabia, but the new deal assures he'll be committed to Slot's project until at least 2027.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, new player of Real Madrid posing in his presentation at Valdebebas training ground
Alexander-Arnold has left Liverpool behind to sign for Real Madrid
The same can't be said for Alexander-Arnold after he departed in a controversial free transfer to Madrid. The full-back could potentially make his Real debut on Wednesday when they face Saudi side Al-Hilal, one of the clubs linked with signing Salah, at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Liverpool won't be at the competition in the United States, handing Salah a chance to properly rest ahead of their league title defence. And the same compliments that marked the speedster out as a special talent nearly a decade ago seemingly still apply today.
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