Rio Ferdinand ranks Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah among all-time Premier League greats - ‘One of the best’

Rio Ferdinand has lavished praise on Mohamed Salah and says he ranks the Liverpool forward among the greatest players in Premier League history.

The 31-year-old has started the season in scintillating fashion with six goals and four assists to date.

Ahead of the Merseyside Derby against Everton, TNT Sports pundits Ferdinand and Peter Crouch highlighted the consistency in Salah's performances.

“He's one of the best goalscorers the Premier League has ever seen,” Ferdinand said.

“I put him that highly; I think he's a fantastic player and got that self-belief which separates him from the normal players.

“The consistency that he's played at such a high level puts him in that elite bar of players that we've seen in the Premier League. Liverpool need to try and keep him for as long as they can if they want to remain successful.”

Those sentiments were echoed by former Reds striker Peter Crouch, who compared the Egyptian to two of the club’s all-time greats.

“He's a machine and looks like he's going to score in every game,” he added.

“With the stats, he scores or assists in almost every game. He's so efficient and he's one of the greats that have come before him like [Robbie] Fowler and [Steven] Gerrard in the Premier League.

“He's incredible and is unstoppable at times. You do have to double up and if he's one-on-one against anyone in the world, he beats them.”

Meanwhile, Abdoulaye Doucoure has been a shining light in a dismal period for Everton, with Crouch commenting on the way the Malian has stepped up after the recent absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

“Somebody needed to step up with Calvert-Lewin being injured and take the goals by the scruff of the neck," he explained.

“He's done that and stood up to be counted in a time of need, because they weren't getting the goals.”

Former Toffees defender Phil Jagielka also spoke about how crucial Doucoure’s goals have been this season

“He's probably been Everton's best attacking player for the past six months, scoring some important goals towards the end of last season," said Jagielka.

“He has hit the ground running again, and Sean [Dyche] will be happy that he's got a couple of options to play as a target man up there alongside him.”

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