Mohamed Salah: how the Egyptian maestro is a blend of the best characteristics of Messi and Ronaldo

It has been quite the season for Salah. At a time when full backs are going for upwards of 50 million pounds, Liverpool acquired him - a proven, effective Serie A winger based on his performances for Roma and Fiorentina - for a little over 35 million.

It's safe to say that he's been the bargain of the season so far. His goal-scoring heroics have been nothing short of astonishing. At the time of writing, he's scored 32 goals after 38 games in all competitions. It's just the start of March, and he's already leapfrogged Luis Suarez's highest ever tally for the club.

What has made these figures seem even more staggering is the fact that he seems to be able to score in so many ways. One of Salah's most brilliant attributes is his movement, which constantly allows him to get into many scoring positions during the course of a game.

In fact, at the start of the season, we were talking about how raw and exciting he was, seeing as he got almost 4 or 5 sweet goal-scoring opportunities every game and made the most of maybe 1 or 2 of them. This was most pronounced in the game Man City thumped them 5-0, as Salah had missed 3 great chances before the contest effectively ended for Liverpool as Mane got sent off.

A deadly predator in and around the box for Liverpool this season

Slowly but surely, he's become more clinical and composed in front of goal as the season has progressed. Having been given the nickname 'Egyptian Messi' during his days at Basel (yes, it seems every talented, left-footed winger is the Messi of their country), we see parallels between the two definitely there.

Like the Argentine maestro, Salah has the ability to dribble past 3 or 4 players, leaving them in his wake, before coolly finishing past the keeper. But the Egyptian sensation doesn't possess Messi's play-making skills - obviously a facet of his game developed having played with the likes of Xavi and Iniesta for most of his career.

It is here where there are parallels between Salah and the current version of Cristiano Ronaldo. Slowly transformed from an all action winger to a target man who has an inexhaustible affinity for finding the net, Cristiano Ronaldo is still reinventing standards at the age of 33.

Salah has drawn comparison to these modern day Titans - Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Nowadays, he doesn't care much about dropping deep and linking up play - there are world-class players in Madrid already capable of doing that in the likes of Modric, Kroos and Isco. He is there to score goals and does it in whatever way necessary - it isn't pretty at times, but who cares as long as you're consistently winning?

Salah is similar in that he has a knack for being at the right place at the right time. And unlike Messi, Salah is deceptively strong for his frame, with Hazard-esque balance to boot. This was evidenced by the way he held his ground against a gargantuan athlete like Harry Maguire in a game Liverpool won around Christmas.

Salah after scoring another goal

What is shocking about Salah's stats this season is that it feels like he still has facets of his game to refine. But what this season has proved is that Salah is a world-class talent capable of changing any game and instilling fear into any defender.

Next season, English teams will be conversant with the runs he makes and his general play style. We can only hope that he continues to enthrall us like he did this season.