'He's number one': John Obi Mikel says Liverpool have a £35m player who's more important than Mo Salah
01/03/2025 05:45 AM
Liverpool are flying high in the Premier League this season as the Arne Slot era has got off to the perfect start.
Liverpool are top of the Premier League and top of the Champions League as things stand, and things couldn't be going much better for the Reds right now.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 1 | LiverpoolLiverpool | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 17 | 28 | 45 |
Key:
Position 1 – 4 : Champions LeaguePosition 5 : UEFA Europa League
Position 18 – 20 : Relegation
There has been plenty of debate about the Premier League Team of the Season so far recently.
Jamie Carragher picked only one Arsenal player in his Team of the Season so far, while Gary Neville hailed Trent Alexander-Arnold when picking his team.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, John Obi Mikel has been picking his Team of the Season to this point, and he's reserved some special praise for Liverpool'sRyan Gravenberch.
Ryan Gravenberch is more important than Mo Salah
Obi Mikel shared his verdict on Gravenberch and his performances this season.
The pundit says that the £35m man has been a revelation this season, claiming that he's the number one most important player in this squad, even ahead of Mohamed Salah.
Gravenberch has been compared to Patrick Vieira this season after his incredible performances, and Obi Mikel has been very impressed to say the least.
"I'm going to go with Gravenberch. A player who didn't get a kick in Klopp's era. This season he has been a revelation of a player. He's the legs Liverpool need in the midfield. He drives forward, he has the legs to go and bomb forward and get back.
"He solidifies that Liverpool side. Right now I actually think he's the number one player in that teamsheet right now. If you take him out of the team I'd like to see how they cope without him. Listen, Mohamed Salah is an important player, but I'm talking about a player who can keep the balance in the team. We're seeing it now. You can have Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne, but if you don't have the engine room of the team it's going to fall apart."
Mohamed Salah stats this season
Gravenberch has been incredible for Liverpool this term, there's no getting away from that.
However, to suggest that there's any Liverpool player more important than Mohamed Salah this season is remiss.
The Egyptian is in the form of his life right now, and he's been producing at a level that we've perhaps not seen from any player in Premier League history.
| Mohamed Salah stats this season | |
| Games | 18 |
| Goals | 17 |
| Assists | 13 |
| Percentage of Liverpool goals contributed to | 66% |
Salah is contributing to the majority of Liverpool's goals so far this season, and while Gravenberch's contributions aren't quite as quantifiable, there's no arguing with the numbers that Salah is putting up.
Salah is a Ballon d'Or contender after his incredible performances so far this season, and while Gravenberch has been brilliant, he's not quite performing at that sort of level.
Liverpool are on course to win some serious silverware this term, and if the Reds do win the league, Salah will have played the biggest part of any player in the Merseyside club's title tilt.
