Liverpool news: Mohamed Salah set daunting challenge by Anfield legend

That’s the opinion of Mark Lawrenson, who has challenged the Egypt international to continue his form at Anfield into next season and beyond.

Salah was at his scintillating best once again in Liverpool’s 5-0 win over Watford on Saturday, finishing the game with four goals.

His tally of 28 league strikes is unmatched by any player in Europe’s top five leagues, including the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Liverpool paid Roma £34million to sign Salah last summer in a deal which is widely regarded as a bargain now following Neymar’s world record £198m move to Paris Saint-Germain.

There have been reports suggesting the Reds could now command a fee close to the Brazilian’s price tag should someone try to sign him at the end of the season.

But Lawrenson is hoping the 25-year-old can be at Anfield for many more years to truly establish himself as a Liverpool legend.

“He must be an absolute nightmare to try to contain. Salah, for a defender, has that horrible trait where you know what he is going to do and you can see what he wants to do but his feet are so quick and his skill is so great that it doesn’t matter what you do: you won’t stop him,” Lawrenson told the Daily Mail.

“Like everyone else, I watched in awe on Saturday. Jurgen Klopp would have hoped for a big season from the Egyptian when he signed him last summer but privately he must be doing cartwheels over how it has turned out – 36 goals by the middle of March is beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.

“To get to 40 goals would be an astonishing achievement, simply because of where he plays.

“He isn’t a centre-forward. He plays off the right and those little steps he takes – it looks like he is shuffling at high speed sometimes – have inflicted huge damage.

“If he carries on in this fashion and helps the teams win trophies, he will have a chance of becoming one of the club’s most influential players of all time – I can’t remember a better debut season – and these are the standards to which he must aspire.

“So I’ve put together my top 10 biggest influencers. I must, first, apologise to men such as Alan Hansen, Phil Thompson, Roger Hunt, Rushie, Michael Owen, Xabi Alonso and Luis Suarez that I couldn’t fit them in!

“Trust me, I have agonised over it. But this isn’t about who is the best player and it isn’t in ranking order.”