Troy Deeney makes bizarre Mohamed Salah claim with 'world class' verdict on Liverpool star
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Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has made the bizarre claim that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah isn’t “world class”.
That came despite the many years of top performances from the Egyptian international, who has lit up Anfield in the Premier League and Champions League year after year.
Very few expected Salah to reach the heights that he has at Liverpool, following a difficult spell at Chelsea early on in his career.
However, upon reinventing himself at AS Roma, the Reds landed the winger in hopes that he would continue to move from strength to strength.
He has done just that, scoring 221 goals and assisting 99 times in 366 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool.
That is nearing one goal involvement every game, an impressive feat that must put him in the conversation as one of the very best.
However, according to Deeney, the forward simply isn’t world class in his view.
Troy Deeney makes Mohamed Salah world class claim
Former Premier League striker Deeney has had his say over Salah and his impact at Liverpool but firmly believes that he isn’t world class.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, he said: “I think Mohamed Salah is excellent, he's a pivotal part for Liverpool and they should never have let it [his expiring contract] get to this situation.
“But I understand that there's a financial structure around what they want to try and keep to. My argument has always been that I just don't think he's world class.
“But world class is just a different opinion, what I think of world class is would I want my kids to play like that player? That’s what I think is world class.
"If I was asking my kids who want to be forwards, I would be saying I would like them to look at what Vinicius Jr does as opposed to Mohamed Salah.”
It’s a bold claim that many of a Liverpool persuasion certainly wouldn’t agree with, not least given his record.
- READ MORE:Andy Robertson reveals what Arne Slot did straight away at Liverpool after replacing Jurgen Klopp
Mohamed Salah stats prove him wrong
While world class may be seen as an aesthetics thing, the numbers also play a huge part in the way those being productive at the very top level.
Since 2017/18, Salah has continually ranked in the top scorers in the Premier League season after season.
The 32-year-old has already bagged eight goals and six assists in 11 league appearances under Arne Slot so far.
It suggests there’s no slowing down for the Egypt international, leaving plenty of big questions surrounding his future at Anfield.
With just a few months remaining on his deal, a huge decision remains over whether Salah should be kept on or not.
