3 reasons why Mohamed Salah deserves to be Player of the Year

Mohamed Salah further laid a strong claim for being named Player of the Year as he netted the opener in Liverpool's 3-0 first leg victory against Manchester City at Anfield. He took his tally to 38 goals in all competition as the Reds took a commanding lead in the first leg of the quarterfinal

The Egyptian forward has found the net 29 times in 31 Premier League appearances for the Reds since arriving at Merseyside this season and is only three away from setting a new record for goals in a single 38-game season.

On the other hand Kevin De Bruyne's fine performances for run-away leaders, Manchester City had made him the hands-down favourite for the Premier League's Player of the Year awards.

De Bruyne is enjoying a superb season at the heart of Pep Guardiola's side but the case for Salah is getting stronger and stronger as the weeks go by.

As Liverpool emerged victorious in the first leg of Champions League quarterfinal, here are the reasons why Salah deserves to be Player of the Year ahead of De Bruyne.

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#3 The stats

Salah took his tally to 29 goals in the Premier League this season against Palace

Mohamed Salah's season has turned out to be possibly the greatest first season by any player at any club in Premier League history. The 25-year-old took his league tally to 29 goals and is in pole position for the Golden Boot.

The Egyptian is now five clear at the top of the Premier League scoring charts and although the season is nearing it's end, he isn't showing signs of slowing down.

Salah was bought as a wide forward and has become a truly world-class goalscorer, surpassing even Harry Kane in both the volume and regularity of his goals.

Nobody has ever scored in more games in a Premier League season. Salah has now scored in 21 games - joint most in a single 38-match season (also Robin van Persie 2012-13 and Cristiano Ronaldo 2007-08).

The Egyptian only needs two more goals to equal the 31 goals record for a 38-game season (jointly held by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Luiz Suarez), and he still has six matches remaining.

Salah scored his 38th goal of the season in all competitions against Manchester City when he netted the opener in Liverpool's 3-0 victory at Anfield. He has had a hand in nine goals (seven goals, two assists) in nine Champions League appearances so far this season.

Liverpool has six Premier League matches left, plus at least two Champions League games which could potentially turn into five should Liverpool reach the final and if he keeps this current vein of form, you wonder if could better Ian Rush's landmark, who scored 47 goals in 1983-84.

#2 Improvement as a player

Mohamed Salah has taken only 85 minutes to score a goal this season

The Egyptian's infamous knack to miss when it seems far easier to score forced Chelsea to send him out on various frustrating loan spells and eventually offload him to Roma where he managed to revive his faltering career.

When Liverpool signed him, Salah was returning to the country which had proved to be his nemesis and that could have made his adaptation into the very fast-paced Premier League a little bit tricky. But he has proved all these theories as mere fiction.

According to Opta stats, nearly 61 percent of his shots have been on target and he takes only 85 minutes to score a goal which is superior to other competitors (Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero are taking 102 and 93 minutes per goal respectively).

It is quite remarkable that Salah has maintained an astonishing consistency over the course of the season. Not once has he gone longer than two league games without scoring and he’s scored in 21 of his 31 appearances so far in the Premier League.

The most ludicrous aspect of Salah’s goal scoring is how much his conversion rate has improved as the season has progressed. In his first 20 league appearances of the season, Salah scored 15 times from 75 shots, a neat 20 percent conversion rate that is pretty bloody impressive for a wide forward.

Since then, Salah has scored 14 times from 47 shots. That is a period of truly elite finishing, and he’s also regularly creating chances.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Liverpool splashed £36.9 million to sign him, that now looks a bargain and has looked so for quite some time.

#1 Impact on Liverpool's season

Salah seems to have plugged the goal scoring vacuum created by Luiz Suarez’s departure

Salah’s contribution to Liverpool’s season extends far beyond his contributions in front of goal. He is integral to how Liverpool play, how they pin teams back and how opponents approach matches against the Reds.

In the Liverpool's attacking system he has proved to be more than a traditional winger. He is being deployed as the wide striker who often comes into dangerous attacking areas and scores important goals for his club.

Arguably Salah is the best-attacking player in the world without the ball right now. His presence has also helped midfielders; the likes of Jordan Henderson, Emre Can and Gini Wijnaldum, sitting behind those attackers, to also perform better as they are able to play those diagonal balls in open spaces which he chases enthusiastically.

His work rate off the ball for the Merseyside club has been fantastic and this has completely suited the high pressing style of Jurgen Klopp.

Mohamed Salah has scored against every team in the top six barring Manchester United. He is doing it in the big games – home and away against Arsenal and Tottenham, strikes against Manchester City and Chelsea, aswell as the Merseyside derby – and against the small teams too.

The thrilling Egyptian seems to have plugged the goal scoring hole created by Luiz Suarez’s departure in 2014.

Simply, no other player has had more decisive moments than Salah this season and the award should go to the player with the finest individual season.