'Show me that Mo is better' - Who Jurgen Klopp wanted instead of Mo Salah at Liverpool
Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah will soon ride off into the sunset, but he was Jurgen Klopp’s second choice.
Liverpool were taking a gamble when they signed Mohamed Salah from Roma in 2017.
History is littered with good players who starred on the continent or in South America but were unable to cut the English mustard in the Premier League. Salah had been one of these players after making his breakthrough with Basel only to struggle at Chelsea before proving that he could handle an elite level league in Serie A at Fiorentina and Roma. Nobody predicted that he would break the records that he has done though.
Who Jurgen Klopp wanted instead of Salah for Liverpool
Salah wasn’t everyone’s preferred option to join Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the Liverpool attack though. Linked to Everton recently, Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt was an emerging talent in 2017 and had all the hallmarks of a player who could make an impact in the Premier League.
As a 20-year old, Brandt came close to signing for Liverpool and would have done if Jurgen Klopp got his way according to their former director of research, Ian Graham. If ever there was a good example of how a recruitment team works, it was the decision to go with Salah instead of Brandt.
Why Klopp wanted Brandt
Speaking on the BBC documentary, “How to Win the Champions League: Liverpool” last year, he said: “Jurgen’s preferred option for that summer was Julian Brandt, who was a great player. Jurgen had obviously known him very well, coming from the Bundesliga, and knew the German market very well.
“We agreed that 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.
“It’s to Jurgen’s credit that he engaged in that debate in an honest way with his eyes open to say: ‘Okay, I’m open to be convinced, show me that Mo is better.’” Brandt has gone on to have a good career and post solid numbers in the Bundesliga, but he isn’t Mo Salah.