Mohamed Salah: One-Season Wonder to All-time Great

Mohamed Salah has definitely established himself as one of the Premier League all time greats, but not many that celebrates him now gave him a chance ahead of the start of his second stint in England.

Another season gets underway and the Liverpool talisman is there to add to his ever-growing reputation, scoring his ninth opening weekend goal to set a new all-time record for most.

The Egyptian, who started as a Chelsea flop, convinced with an astonishing performance on his first season back in England but the media choose to deprive him of his credits, tagging him a one season wonder.

His first stint in England was far from memorable. Arriving in 2014, Salah struggled to break into José Mourinho’s star-studded lineup and was soon loaned out to Fiorentina and then AS Roma. It was in Italy where Salah rediscovered his form, showcasing the explosive qualities that would later define his career in England.

Mohamed Salah: One Season Wonder to All-time Great

In the summer of 2017, Liverpool parted with an initial fee of €43 million in a deal that would eventually rise to €50 million to sign the then 25-year-old, who was fresh from the back of a season where he scored 19 goals and 12 assists in 41 games for AS Roma.

Notwithstanding, the better percentage of the Premier League fans and pundits were not be to convinced due to how his first exhibition in the championship panned out.

Just over six years and into his eighth season with Liverpool, time has proven him to be the real deal, and could have been regarded as the all-time greatest to grace the league if not for collective shortcoming.

Compared to a lot of other players who are regarded as the all-time greatest in the competition, Mohamed Salah has won just a Premier League title, which was also Liverpool’s only title in the current era.

Alan Shearer is the other, but as the popular saying time makes a legend would have it, the English legend spent all his time in the Premier League, became the all-time leading Goalscorer and won his only title with Blackburn Rovers.

Salah however, even though his lone Premier League title was Liverpool’s only in the new era, it does not hold much significance as that won by Shearer, whose Blackburn team was nothing compared to the Merseyside club in statue.

Nonetheless, Mohamed Salah has not proven his doubters wrong, he also gave them another food for thought about his greatness, and how close he comes to the best-ever in the competition’s history.

Mohamed Salah : The numbers behind the fact

The Premier League has been privileged to be graced by several attacking talents over the years. From the Alan Shearer to Theirry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, Robin van Persie and Luis Suárez, fans have been treated to the what they would at some point admit is the climax of entertainment.

More recently, the likes of Harry Kane and presently Erling Haaland is doing wonders with the domineering Manchester City side. Mohamed Salah defined his own era, helping Liverpool to all possible titles under Jurgen Klopp.

Astonishingly, Salah’s game isn’t only praised for the goals but for his overall playstyle. He is the complete forward, the closest to the Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to being a multifaceted and productive Premier League forward.

His ability to create chances for his teammates, his tireless work rate, and his knack for turning up in the biggest games have all contributed to his legendary status.

His most favourite opponents are the biggest teams in England. His 14 goals against Manchester United is the most the Red Devils have conceded against any single player.

The former FC Basel youngster also has double digits of goals against Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. He has also hit double figures of goal involvements against his former employer, Chelsea.

Renowned for his blistering pace, clinical finishing, and incredible consistency, Salah has redefined what it means to be a modern winger, while rewriting the record books in the process.

Under Jürgen Klopp, Salah flourished, immediately hitting the ground running and scoring 44 goals in his debut season across all competitions, 32 of which came in the Premier League in 2017-18.

That season saw Salah break the record for the most goals in a 38-game Premier League season, a feat that signaled the arrival of a new superstar. He also added ten further assists in the competition, and four more in other competitions for the Reds that never walk alone.

No player had reached 30 goals in a single Premier League season since Luis Suárez in 2013-14, and Salah also did so in sensational fashion, scoring all but one of his 32 goals from open play.

Having finished fourth in the league the previous season, Liverpool secured back-to-back top four finish for the first time in the decade.

He also helped the club to their first UEFA Champions League final since 2007, where they eventually lost to Real Madrid after Salah himself was taken off injured in the first-half of the clash in Kyiv.

A year later, he helped them go one better as they won their first title in the competition since 2005, while they also finished just a point behind Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title.

In the 2019-20 season, Salah, alongside the duo of Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino delivered the club’s long awaited first Premier League title of the new era, ending a 30-year wait for a Championship title.

He also led Liverpool to the UEFA Champions League final two years later, where they again fall short against the most successful team in the competition, Real Madrid.

In seven full seasons in England since joining Liverpool, Salah has maintained a consistency of scoring 20 or more goals in each of those seasons, scoring 30 or more in four and over 40 in one. Not in any of those seasons has he failed to reach 35 or more goal involvements.

Today, he (212) stands third in the all-time list for most goals scored for Liverpool across all competitions, only behind Ian Rush (339) and Roger Hunt (262).

For Premier League goals scored for the Reds, Mohamed Salah ranks first with 156 goals, 28 more than his nearest rival Robbie Fowler.

Salah ranks tenth amongst the all-time leading Goalscorers in Premier League history, despite playing significantly fewer games than all those ahead of him but one Theirry Henry.

By projection, he is expected to rank seventh come May, when the new season is brought to a close.Salah also boast 70 Premier League assists, a number only bettered by 14 other players in the all-time list, while he is 13 off a place in the top 10.

Since his arrival in the Premier League, no player has had more than his 225 goal involvements in the competition. He has also amassed some impressive individual accolades in that time.

Awards and recognition since second coming

In his first season back in the English top-flight, Mohamed Salah won three player of the month awards, and he has added two more to own five of the award. In addition, he has won 12 Professional Footballers’ Association PFA’s version of the award.

Salah was also crowned PFA Premier League Player of the year in 2017-18 and 2021-22, as well as the Football Writers’ Association FWA’s version of the award in both year. In 2017-18, he was awarded as the Premier League Player of The Year.

The now 32-year-old has also been voted as PFA Fans’ Player of the Year in three seasons, 2017-18, 2020-21, and 2021-22.

Mohamed Salah has won the Premier League golden boot on three different occasions, only Thierry Henry, four, has won more.

By winning the playmaker award in 2021-22 for recording the most Premier League assists, Mohamed Salah became the only player to win both golden boot and playmaker awards in the same season in history of the competition.

Stamping his authority on this era

Mohamed Salah will forever be remembered as one of the greatest of all time in the history of the Premier League. He has carved out a place in history that will endure for generations to come.

A complete forward with all the etiquette needed to thrive at the top level with consistency second to none, even though he has one Premier League winners’ medal, his greatness will not be any less.

As he enters his eighth season in the competition as a Liverpool player, with more and more records awaiting to be broken, Salah is making himself a name to remember for generations to come.

He is not slowing down, despite his poor start to the year, he he has been able to put that behind him and today, no one will eagerly bet against him having a splendid time in the colours of the Kop this season.

The Chelsea flop turned one season wonder and now considered in the company of the all-time greats, Mohamed Salah’s redemption is one for the ages, and so is the reputation he has earned himself.

While Liverpool fans will forever remember him as one of the players who brought the club back to the pinnacle of world football, Premier League will mention his name alongside legends like Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

New Liverpool boss Arne Slot could count himself lucky to work with a man who can create plenty out of nothing, and made more than just a name for now but forever, despite the odds against him at the start of the journey.

Where would you rank Mohamed Salah amongst all-time Premier League greats ?

Hassan Afolabi