Phil Thompson: What I thought when Liverpool FC signed 25-year-old
The Liverpool FC legend admits he has been surprised by Mohamed Salah's brilliant start to life at Anfield
Phil Thompson has admitted that he was concerned when Liverpool FC signed Mohamed Salah from AS Roma in the summer.
The Reds made the Egypt international their most-expensive signing following his £39m transfer from the Serie A giants in the summer transfer window before Liverpool FC spent a club-record £48m fee on RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita.
Salah struggled during a six-month spell at Stamford Bridge following an £11m move to Chelsea from Swiss side Basel in January 2014 despite being linked with Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur.
The African forward won the League Cup and the Premier League during his brief spell at Chelsea before he was sent out on loan to Fiorentina and then AS Roma.
Salah made his deal permanent with the Italian club in 2016 before his impressive Serie A form earned him a big-money return to the Premier League with Liverpool FC.
The summer signing netted twice from the bench in a 3-0 win at Stoke City on Wednesday night to take his tally to 12 goals in 14 games in the Premier League this term.
Salah has already beaten Robbie Fowler’s record-breaking start to life as Liverpool FC player and has also netted five times in 10 games in the cup competitions.
Former Liverpool captain Thompson has admitted that Salah even caught the Reds legend by surprise following his brilliant start to life at the Anfield outfit.
“He’s been a revelation,” Thompson told Sky Sports.
“Dare I say it when we were signing him in the summer I was thinking, ‘I’ve seen this player at Chelsea and he didn’t pull up any trees for Chelsea’.
“He didn’t have many games and I think he scored two goals in about 13 matches and I thought, ‘he didn’t even look a player’.”
