MOHAMED SALAH SHOULD snub interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona to stay at Liverpool and try to win the Champions League, according to former Reds midfielder Paul Ince.
Salah has been in electrifying form this season, scoring 36 goals in 41 games in all competitions, and has emerged as Liverpool’s stand-out player under Jurgen Klopp.
Salah’s performances have helped the Reds into the quarter-finals of the Champions League – where they will face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City – while they sit third in the league, seven points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea and on course to once again qualify for Europe’s elite club competition.
Ince subsequently believes that the Egypt international is in the right place at the right time, and has urged him to reject any overtures from the Spanish giants, who have both been credited with an interest in a summer transfer.
The former Liverpool midfielder said: “Mohamed Salah would be foolish to leave Liverpool right now. He’s in a place which is the perfect fit for him.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s always going to be tough when the big boys come calling. It’s hard to ignore Real Madrid or Barcelona – as we saw with Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez. But I believe Salah should sit tight.
“There’s a lot of progression at Liverpool, they’re slowly but surely evolving. Creeping up the table, and doing fantastically in the Champions League.
“If Salah sits tight and enjoys the ride, he could find himself on a trophy-winning team next season, where he would be the star man.”
Ince pointed to the transfers of Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba to Manchester United, with both struggling to adjust to life at Old Trafford, and has lauded how quickly Salah has taken to his Merseyside surroundings.
“We’ve seen that plenty of times (players flopping after big-money moves), but he’s a real rare talent. Liverpool will be in Europe again; they’ll have some new additions in the team and he will easily net 30 goals.
“He’s only 25-years-old, he still has plenty of time. He must be enjoying his football, and he’s at a club which have a very good team and manager, and will allow him to play exactly how he wants. He could end up regretting throwing that away, and potentially being sat on another team’s bench.”
Despite his admiration for the Egypt international, Ince has moved to cool comparisons with Barcelona icon Lionel Messi, insisting that Salah must continue his current form for a few more years before he can be mentioned in the same breath as the Argentine.
“It’s only been a season, but if he proves he’s at this level consistently for another couple of years, then you can start to say it. He’s had a phenomenal season, but to be one of Anfield’s best ever, you need to keep re-producing that form.”
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