Jurgen Klopp agreed with suggestions Mohamed Salah could soon be considered one of the best players in the world, but the Liverpool manager feels comparisons with Lionel Messi will not help the forward.
Salah scored four times in the 5-0 win over Watford at Anfield on Saturday, taking his tally to 27 Premier League goals in a prolific first season on Merseyside.
Such has been the impact of the Egypt international upon returning to England from Roma, one reporter put it to Klopp that the former Chelsea striker, along with Barcelona star Messi, is one of the game's top talents.
"Yes, I think Mo is on the way," he said.
"That's good. I don't think Mo wants or anybody wants to be compared with Lionel Messi.
"He [Messi] is the one that is doing what he is doing for 20 years it feels like. The last player that I know who had that influence on a team performance was Diego Maradona I think, another Argentine guy.
"Mo is on a fantastic way, that's for sure. But how it always is in life, if you have the skills, then you have to show it, constantly. And his consistency is very good for us, he helps us a lot. The boys love playing together with him."
Quizzed about Salah earlier in his post-match news conference, Klopp said: "He gave the answer already with four goals.
"If the question is, 'what do I think about that?', I think that's quite exceptional.
"Another good performance in a very difficult game, in a very impressive manner, coping and dealing with difficult conditions.
"The whole team tonight but especially around the first goal I would say Mo, because it was obviously slippery.
"Everybody suffered, but not Mo in that situation. That's what you need to be on the highest level."
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