Does Mohamed Salah warrant the Player of the Year award just as much as Kevin De Bruyne?

Another weekend, another Mohamed Salah masterclass. The Egyptian winger once again put on a dazzling display for Liverpool against Spurs on Sunday, with two brilliant goals taking his Premier League total to 21 for the season already.

Salah’s second goal in particular drew comparisons from many to the great Lionel Messi, as he jinked, twisted and turned his way through the Spurs defence inside the box before dinking the ball over an on-rushing Hugo Lloris to give his side the lead.

We all know what happened next – and it’s safe to say there could be, probably has already been, and will still be thousands of words written about it. But we’re not here to talk about that; we’re here to revel in the wonder of Mohamed Salah.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Sunday, February 4, 2018: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring the second goal during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

It is hard to believe that this man cost Liverpool shy of £40 million during the summer window considering the impact he has had and the form he has found himself in.

His pace, power, finishing ability, finesse, attitude, work-rate and all-round demeanour have been a breath of fresh air into this Liverpool team and he is certainly doing more than enough to at the very least partially fill the void vacated by former number 10, Philippe Coutinho.

This is not to mention his goal scoring stats. In the Premier League alone, Salah has notched 21 goals in 25 games, as well as getting six assists. That’s one man who has directly been involved in 27 goals for his side in 25 league games which is more than a goal-per-game.

Something else that’s quite staggering about his involvement in Liverpool’s league scoring is that he has had a direct hand in almost HALF of all of the goals the Reds have scored so far this season.

HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND – Tuesday, January 30, 2018: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah during the FA Premier League match between Huddersfield Town FC and Liverpool FC at the John Smith’s Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

You look around at other top Premier League sides and you see the other big players and how important they are to their sides, but Salah’s importance to Liverpool is perhaps greater than all of these.

He has been that good, that there’s not a single side in the league, perhaps in the world, that the ‘King of Egypt’ would not go straight into – including the all-conquering Manchester City.

This team also includes a player who many are touting to win Player of the Year award, and that man is Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgian playmaker, like Salah, is having a fantastic season and is a crucial part of the City team that is flattening every obstacle that they’re faced with (well, aside from Jürgen’s Reds that is!), and he has been in outstanding form.

He too, like Salah, has been involved in many of City’s 74 league goals, directly so in 18 of those goals (seven goals, 11 assists) and keeps his team ticking over undeniably well.

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – Saturday, September 9, 2017: Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is fouled by Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold during the FA Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at the City of Manchester Stadium. (Pic by Don Jackson-Wyatt/Propaganda)

There’s no doubting KDB’s talent and influence in that City team, and it is something that has been nurtured over the past few seasons to get him to the level he is now at.

Yet for some to claim that he is the only choice for the Player of the Year award is something that simply baffles me.

Is it because he is playing for the team that is running away with the league that everyone’s focus is automatically drawn to someone within that team for the award?

Just because City are top of the tree does not necessarily mean that nobody else has been performing at a similar level – which Salah easily has.

It’s not even a straight shoot-out between Salah and KDB, you can’t ignore Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, there are a number of players performing at a very high level this season.

READ MORE: Carragher: “The only other player that can score that second Mohamed Salah goal is Lionel Messi”

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Sunday, February 4, 2018: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah scores the second goal during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

But ignore Salah, who is in the form of his life, scoring for fun, doing magical things on the pitch – how can you put that to one side?

You could perhaps also argue that if you were to take Salah out of Liverpool’s squad, they would feel the impact of his absence far more than City would notice De Bruyne was missing. Whether that’s a fair comparison or not is difficult to say, as the strength of City’s squad is almost un-paralleled in world football.

But I feel that Salah can do things that De Bruyne can’t, and he has a bigger impact in games that De Bruyne can – but perhaps that’s because his contributions are a little more obvious than De Bruyne’s can be.

Whoever wins it, you can’t deny that both players are among the best in the world. But Mo does love a good award this season, so why not just give him another?

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