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Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has said that he was well aware of Liverpool's Mohammed Salah's pedigree. He said that he knew Salah would go on to succeed when the duo was together at Stamford Bridge, albeit briefly, almost a decade ago.
Mohammed Salah joined Chelsea from Swiss club FC Basel in January 2014. He spent two seasons at Chelsea, managing a grand total of two goals in 13 league appearances before he was shipped off on loan to Fiorentina. On his return the following season, Salah was sent to AS Roma in a €5-million loan deal that was later made permanent.
Didier Drogba made a return to Chelsea under Jose Mourinho for the 2014-15 season. The Portuguese manager was also responsible for deciding to sell Kevin De Bruyne apart from Mohammed Salah during his last spell with the London giants.
Nevertheless, Drogba has said that he always knew the Liverpool star would go on to 'blow up', saying:
"He was sad not to contribute, but he was always good. When you have this kind of intelligence, it’s just a matter of time before you blow up. I remember we spoke a few times when he was at Roma, and he was scoring goals and then he had a moment when he was not scoring and he asked me how to deal with this kind of situation."
"I shared with him a lot of examples and experience, and how it happened to me and all the strikers.
Didier Drogba scored 164 goals in 381 appearances for Chelsea, and is one of the greatest strikers English football has ever seen. However, Salah recently broke Drogba's record of being the most prolific African scorer in Premier League history when he struck a hat-trick against Manchester United.
The Cote d'Ivoire legend joked that Salah may go on to break all of his records. He said in this regard:
"If he continues, he’s going to destroy all my records! I want to cry. What I’ve seen during training, and all his teammates will tell you, the quality was there. He just needed time on the pitch to show his talent and his quality."
"When you look at the squad we had at the time, it was not easy to play, but what really got me attached to Mo is that he’s really nice; he’s really polite, even when he was not playing.
Liverpool and Mohammed Salah set sights on Premier League title after Arsenal rout
Jurgen Klopp failed to bring in reinforcements during the summer. That has been touted as one of the reasons why Liverpool might fail to win the Premier League title this season. Nevertheless, after 12 games, Liverpool are third in the standings, just four points adrift of league leaders Chelsea.
Mohamed Salah has played a key role for the Reds this season across competitions. He has already struck 16 goals across competitions, and has dished out six assists as well.
After their 5-0 rout of Manchester United, Liverpool dropped points against Brighton and David Moyes' West Ham. However, the international break proved to be beneficial as multiple key players returned from injuries. Club captain Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane were part of Saturday's 4-0 victory over Arsenal after initially being deemed doubtful.
Andy Robertson, though, missed the game due to a minor groin injury picked up on international duty with Scotland. Roberto Firmino is out for a few weeks, while Naby Keita, Divock Origi and James Milner are all nearing returns. Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliot are long-term absentees. Moreover, Liverpool's easier set of fixtures over the next few weeks should fill Klopp with optimism.
The January Africa Cup of Nations could adversely impact Jurgen Klopp's squad, though. Both Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah, apart from the currently injured Naby Keita, will miss at least two Premier League games. They could potentially miss the Stamford Bridge visit on 2nd January as well.
While the going is expected to get tough, Liverpool have been flawless so far in the Champions League. They can be expected to compete for the Premier League title as well. That's because of Salah's blistering form and the team playing well.
