Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool "lucky" to have Mohamed Salah

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 01 May 2018

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes that Mohamed Salah has matured since leaving Chelsea, describing the forward's rise to the top as a "difficult" journey.

Jurgen Klopp has admitted that Liverpool are "lucky" to have Mohamed Salah at the peak of his powers after the forward received another individual accolade.

Salah was named the Football Writers' Association's Player of the Year on Tuesday morning, adding to his Professional Footballers' Association gong for the same category.

The Egypt international is the 15th player in the Premier League era to earn both awards in the same campaign - a just reward in a season that has seen him net 43 times in all competitions.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool's Champions League semi-final second leg against Roma, Reds boss Klopp claimed that Salah has 'grown up' since his short-lived spell with Chelsea.

"He has matured, got confidence here," he told reporters. "He came from Chelsea to Florence and played a good season, but not as good as the season at Roma. He grew up and became the player he is now. We are the lucky guys who have him now in the team, that is how it is.

"It is not that I have explained to him exactly how to score goals, he knew that before already, but each striker in the world does not start as an 18-year-old boy as the goal-getter - he needs to make his own experiences.

"That is what Mo did, in very difficult circumstances, coming early [in his career] from Egypt to Switzerland [with Basel], doing all that journey, carrying all that responsibility for all the people, maybe for a whole country, and he is really quite cool with it. He has good teammates, they love helping him and they love how he helps them."

Salah and closest challenger Kevin De Bruyne received more than 90% of the journalists' votes for the FWA award.