Ex-Liverpool man explains why he wouldn't have liked playing next to Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah may be one of Liverpool and the Premier League's greatest-ever goalscorers, but that does not make him a good team-mate, according to a former Reds striker

Emile Heskey has claimed he would not have liked to play with Mohamed Salah(Image: Getty Images)

Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey has claimed he would not have enjoyed playing alongside Mohamed Salah because of his preference for scoring rather than creating goals for others.

The Liverpool star has, in many ways, changed the demands and expectations for wide attackers in the Premier League. The Egyptian has been the Reds' main goalscorer during his time at Anfield, more so than traditional no.9s such as Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez.

Salah has more than justified that tactical switch, with the attacker third on Liverpool’s all-time scorers list and the fourth highest scorer in the Premier League. But Heskey, who played in an era where teams traditionally deployed a 4-4-2 shape and relied more heavily on center-forwards to score, said he would not have enjoyed lining up alongside Salah.

“I remember someone asking me a few years back, ‘would you have liked to play with Mohamed Salah?’ I said ‘probably not’,” the 48-year-old told OLBG.

“I'd probably prefer to play with Trent [Alexander-Arnold] because I know he's going to cross the ball for me.

“Mo's not going to cross. Mo wants to score goals. We’ve gone from wingers who want to provide to wingers who want to score goals.”

Salah has changed the demand for wingers in the Premier League

However, Salah’s goals have dried up this season. He has netted just four in the Premier League, the last of which came four months ago.

The 33-year-old has not scored in his last 10 Premier League matches, his longest-ever run, and there is a growing belief this will be his last season at Liverpool. A move to Saudi Arabia seems most likely for Salah, but other options could be available.

“Could Mohamed Salah move to a Barcelona, a Real Madrid or a Bayern Munich instead of the Saudi Pro League? Everyone would love to see him to go those places and I’m sure he would as well but you take what's there and in front of you,” Heskey mused.

Heskey scored 60 goals during his four-year spell at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

“If that is Salah’s route well, we've seen Cristiano Ronaldo still scoring goals out there. You see Ivan Toney still scoring goals. Sadio Mane's out there.

“There's no reason why you can't do it in Saudi Arabia and still be producing on an international level as well.

“It's whatever suits him because once you've done what he's done, as fans we've just got to accept what he decides.

“We accept and we love him for what he's done. When you look at the numbers that he's produced, no one can say anything.”