Remember the summer of 2017? Liverpool was buzzing, but the transfer window felt a little… uncertain. Jurgen Klopp, fresh off a fourth-place Premier League finish, had his sights set on Julian Brandt, the dynamic German winger from Bayer Leverkusen. Brandt was 21, homegrown talent, and fit the tactical profile Klopp usually favored: high work rate, good pressing, comfortable on either flank. He seemed like a natural fit for the Reds' attacking system.
But then Michael Edwards, Liverpool's then-sporting director, and his scouting department kept pushing. Specifically, they were championing a certain Egyptian international playing for Roma. Mohamed Salah. Marcotti recently explained how persistent the data team was, presenting numbers that simply couldn't be ignored. Salah had just wrapped up a sensational season in Serie A, bagging 15 goals and 11 assists in 31 league appearances. He was directly involved in a goal every 115 minutes for Roma, a far better return than Brandt's 3 goals and 11 assists in 32 Bundesliga games that year. The eye test was one thing, but the cold, hard data told a different story.
Klopp, to his credit, listened. He’s often spoken about trusting his team, and this was a prime example. The scouting department, armed with extensive data analysis, convinced him that Salah wasn't the same player who struggled at Chelsea a few years prior, where he managed just two goals in 19 appearances across all competitions. They saw a player who had matured, refined his game, and, crucially, found his goalscoring touch in Italy. Liverpool paid Roma a reported £34 million for Salah, a figure that, even then, felt like a bargain for a player of his potential. Looking back, it's criminal how cheap that was.
Salah's immediate impact was nothing short of historic. He shattered records in his debut season, scoring an astonishing 32 Premier League goals in 36 games, breaking the record for a 38-game season. He added 10 goals in the Champions League, leading Liverpool to the final against Real Madrid. That year, he outscored Brandt by a mile, who had 9 goals for Leverkusen in the 2017-18 season. The numbers weren't just good; they were unprecedented for a Liverpool winger.
Think about the titles that followed: the Champions League in 2019, the Premier League in 2020, ending a 30-year wait. Salah has been central to all of it. He’s consistently delivered, hitting double-digit league goals every single season since joining. His partnership with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané became one of the most feared attacking trios in European football. This isn't just about raw goals, either. Salah's relentless work rate, his ability to track back, and his constant threat in transition have been vital to Klopp’s high-octane system. He’s a complete forward, even if he doesn't always get credit for his defensive contributions.
The real hot take here? Had Klopp gotten his wish and signed Brandt instead, Liverpool would have won exactly zero major trophies under him. Salah's sheer volume of goals and his big-game mentality were the missing pieces. Brandt, while a good player, simply doesn't have that elite, game-changing ability that Salah possesses. It’s a harsh truth, but it’s the truth. The entire trajectory of the club shifted because a scouting department had the conviction to challenge their manager's initial preference.
Liverpool’s success in the last seven years is a testament to many things, but high on that list is the brilliance of their recruitment. And the signing of Mohamed Salah, a player Klopp initially wasn't sold on, stands as the greatest example of that brilliance. I predict Salah will still be Liverpool's top scorer next season, even with new attacking talent arriving.