Signing of the Century Salah Deserves Silverware

Forget Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres, and all the others that came before. Mohamed Salah is arguably the best signing Liverpool have made this century.

The player that Jürgen Klopp managed to acquire for a meagre sum of £36.9 million from Roma last summer has set the Premier League and Champions League alight since his arrival at Anfield. He even has a chance of outscoring Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski and claiming Europe’s Golden Shoe.

There is no question that Salah’s ultra-impressive debut season on Merseyside deserves to be rewarded with silverware. Could the Champions League be theirs for the taking?

Liverpool have made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2007-2008 campaign, way back when they were considered one of the powerhouses of Europe. They crashed out to Chelsea that year 3-4 on aggregate, and in the season prior to that ended as runners-up after losing 2-1 to Milan at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

Despite these losses, the epic win over Milan in the 2004-05 competition when the Reds prevailed on penalties at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul was still fresh in the minds of football fans the world over.

Now, Klopp and his men have a chance to rekindle those fond memories and remind the world of the team who dominated England and Europe in the 1970s and 80s. In the lead up to their encounter with Roma at Anfield, the Reds are at 9/4 with William Hill to lift the trophy at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev on the 26th of May.

According to sports betting site Winning Sports Bets, William Hill also has enhanced odds and live streaming available. This means that bettors can receive up-to-the-minute in-game odds during the next Champions League fixture. An outright punt on Klopp’s charges now would certainly yield rewards if they went all the way as well.

Judging by his season so far, Salah could be the man to fire the five-time European champions back into the history books. Jose Mourinho will have been wincing at the sight of yet another one of his Chelsea castoffs coming back to haunt him, and the Egyptian did it in style.

Salah is the second-fastest Liverpool player of all time (behind George Allan in 1895) to reach 30 goals, which he achieved after his 36th appearance. The goal-hungry speedster will now have his target set on the record for most goals scored in a season by a Liverpool player. This is currently held by Ian Rush, who bagged 47 in the 1983-84 campaign.

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With Liverpool’s top four place all but sewn up thanks to Chelsea’s disastrous title defence, Klopp can turn his full attention to the Champions League and rotate his squad for top-flight games. The Reds’ next opponents Roma, on the other hand, still have work to do to secure their Champions League spot for next year via the league. Eusebio Di Francesco is likely to have one eye on Serie A, but will be well aware that prevailing in this year’s tournament will book his side a place in the next.

Despite the fact that the Italian club managed to dump Barcelona out of the competition, drawing Roma was the dream tie for Liverpool. Their former star will be ready to haunt them and make them realise what a mistake it was to let him go so cheap. Salah and company now have a strong chance og getting to the final, and possibly earn the ultimate prize for all their efforts this term.