20-year-old Chelsea attacker admits he’s been watching Mohamed Salah play a lot recently

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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is having another season to remember at Anfield.

With 10 Premier League goals to his name already, the 31-year-old is looking primed to challenge Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot.

Hailed as one of the best strikers this country has ever seen recently, Salah’s goal-scoring is well documented. But an underrated part of Mo’s game is probably his pressing.

And speaking to The Athletic today, Chelsea youngster Omari Hutchinson has highlighted how watching the Liverpool man harass defenders has helped his own game whilst on-loan at Ipswich.

“The [Ipswich] coach watched me when I was with Chelsea Under-21s and saw that I could be good at pressing,” says the 20-year-old.

“But I didn’t really do it as much as I should. He said, ‘I’m going to need that from you if you are going to play for me in the Championship.’”

“I have improved on it a lot. I’ve been watching clips of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, too; how they press off the ball. I have implemented that into my game and become really good at it. The coach has told me that I am now one of the best pressers he has seen, so that has become one of my attributes. I am making it a strength.

“I am starting to enjoy it. I win the ball back a lot. To where I want to go, I have to do it. If it is good enough for Salah and Mane, it has to be good enough for me, too.”

Salah praised for pressing

When people look back on Salah’s career, they’ll slowly start to realise just how well-rounded a forward he is. As well as being hailed as a top striker, the Egyptian has also been put in a top five Premier League wingers of all-time list this week.

Mo really can do it all. He’s a good finisher, has great movement, can take players on, has speed, a creative mind and can press like his life depends on it.

From what he says here, Hutchinson has clearly been watching peak Jurgen Klopp Liverpool. With Sadio Mane going hell for leather on the other side of the pitch, Salah made sure the opposition defenders had no time to think when on the ball against him either.

This is what made him absolutely perfect for the way Klopp wanted to play. In many ways, Mo and Sadio redefined what can be expected from wide forwards.

For a young attacker like Hutchinson, there aren’t many – or perhaps any – forwards better to watch and learn from.

Of course, with Mane now plying his trade over in Saudi Arabia, the best clips of the Senegalese will now be slightly dated.

But Mo is still doing it. Hutchinson could pull up a video of the Egyptian King pressing last weekend against Brentford and it would be relevant. We’re witnessing greatness in action. He’s never going to be as good as Salah, but Hutchinson is learning from the right man.