Former Liverpool director of research Ian Graham has shared the key role he played in convincing manager Jurgen Klopp to sign Mohamed Salah, a move that has proven to be one of the club’s most important.
Salah has since become a legendary figure at Anfield, scoring 243 goals and registering 109 assists across 393 appearances, helping Liverpool secure numerous titles, including the Champions League, Premier League, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
In an interview with BBC Sport as part of a documentary on Liverpool’s 2018-19 Champions League triumph, Graham explained that Klopp’s willingness to consider alternative opinions helped bring Salah to the club.
At the time, Liverpool had the option to sign Julian Brandt, a young and talented player from Bayer Leverkusen, but Graham argued that Salah was the better choice.
“Jurgen had obviously known him very well, coming from the Bundesliga, and knew the German market very well.
“We agreed that (Julian) Brandt was a very good young player but not a standout in the same way that Mo was. From our data analysis point of view Mo was the best young wide forward in Europe, full stop.
“Roma were under pressure to sell because their finances were not in a good place, so we knew he was available for a good price.
“He played a forward and wide role that we needed to fill at the time, whereas Brandt was more of an attacking midfielder.”
Graham emphasized the importance of Klopp’s open-mindedness in making the decision.
“It’s to Jurgen’s credit that he engaged in that debate in an honest way with his eyes open to say, ‘OK, I’m open to be convinced, show me that Mo is better’.”
Had Klopp not been receptive to new ideas, Liverpool’s history in recent years may have looked vastly different.
