Steven Gerrard has made the bold claim that Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is the greatest African in Premier League history, despite the Egyptian not having completed one season as a regular stater in the English top-flight.
Gerrard, a Liverpool legend, was asked on BT Sport whether he thought Mohamed Salah is the greatest African footballer to have played in the Premier League.
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“It’s a tough one,” Gerrard replied as he continued, “Yes, probably”.
“I think you have to wait to see how he finishes the season, but if he continues to get goals and set a record, then you have to say yes,” added the former Liverpool skipper.
The fact that Gerrard completely bypassed the likes of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Michael Essien and many others, did not go down well with most fans despite the fact that Salah is in the midst of an incredible goalscoring season.
The rapid Egyptian literally can’t stop scoring, as his tally of 24 goals in the league alone attests.
Salah, in his first season as a Liverpool player, is neck-and-neck with Tottenham Hotspur frontman Harry Kane in the Premier League scoring charts and is a frontrunner to win the Player of the Year award despite the fact that Liverpool are effectively out of the title race.
However, Didier Drogba, who terrorised Premier League defences during his time with Chelsea (two stints) is widely regarded as the finest African to have graced the English top-flight.
The burly Ivorian remains the only African to have scored a century of goals in the Premier League but notably won the title an impressive four times while also scooping the FA Cup on three occasions.
And Yaya Toure, currently on his last legs at Manchester City, would surely come close second for most fans and pundits if a poll for greatest-ever African player was conducted.
A double Premier League winner with the Sky Blues, and on the verge of making it a triple, Toure bossed the midfield with his galloping runs and while he may be a shadow of his former self, the 34-year-old was undoubtedly among the world’s best in his prime.
So while Salah deserves all the acclaim that comes his way after successfully proving his critics wrong who said he couldn’t cut it in England after a disastrous stint with Chelsea not so long ago, his lack of silverware, for the moment, prevents him from being awarded the crown of the finest African player to have played in the Premier League.
