Shaun Wright-Phillips says £34m Liverpool star has completely changed since Roberto Firmino left

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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has taken on the responsibility of creating more goals for his teammates.

Salah has started the season on fire for Liverpool. After six Premier League games, the Egyptian has three goals and four assists. Not bad going.

It isn’t a surprise to see Mo scoring and creating with such ease. But according to pundit Shaun Wright-Phillips on The Kelly & Wrighty Show, the 31-year-old has added more strings to his bow since seeing Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino leave Anfield.

“That’s where he’s changed a little bit,” says the former England winger.

“You go back a few years when Mane and Bobby [Firmino] were there, everyone used to say he was more greedier.

“He felt like he could be [greedy] because Bobby was a creator and Mane did the same as well. But now that they’re gone, he’s realised that right ‘it’s not just about me now, I have to provide for my teammates.’

“He’s doing that and scoring goals, I don’t think you can ask for much more from him.”

Mo takes up Bobby mantle

Perhaps Wright-Phillips is correct here, but the stats are surprisingly completely against his point.

It probably says more about the general way Salah is seen by the wider public that most will actually agree with the pundit. The Egypt captain has always been perceived as a pure goal scorer.

But although Firmino was inherently a more creative forward, in terms of end product, Mo always won out.

During their six seasons at Liverpool together, Salah bagged more Premier League assists in all but one campaign.

Accumulatively, the pair set up 94 Reds goals. But head-to-head it wasn’t even close. Firmino laid on 36 assists for his teammates, with Salah way ahead on 58.

Factor in that Mo also bagged 137 goals to Firmino’s 61 over the same period, and you really start to see just how good Salah is. As for Mane, well, creating was never his job at all. The Senegal legend set up 24 Premier League goals for Liverpool between 2017/18 and 2021/22.

So, Mo’s creative efficiency may now be being highlighted much more, but it’s always been there. He really can do it all. All for just £34m, too.