Is the debate between Mohamed Salah and Didier Drogba valid? After Mohamed Salah, alias Mo Salah’s outstanding performance and a hat-trick against Liverpool and Manchester United over the weekend sparked heated debate. However, one that drew attention was Mohammed Salah’s claim to be Africa’s prominent Premier League player, surpassing Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.
On Sunday, Mohamed Salah’s hat-trick against Manchester United gave him 107 Premier League goals, three more than Didier Drogba’s 104 goals. A slight mark ahead of the former Chelsea player.
Former Ghana and Fulham defender John Paintsil discussed which African he thought had the most significant impact in the English Premier League. According to John, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is yet to surpass former Chelsea player Didier Drogba as Africa’s most significant Premier League player.
During his time in England, John Painstil played for both West Ham and Leicester City, and he also represented Ghana in the 2010 and 2006 World Cups.
John Paintsil, in an interview, stated, “When you talk about Premier League history, it’s a big thing. You just mentioned Drogba leading in goals and now Salah has taken over.”
He also emphasized the time it took both players to become Africa’s best and their efforts. Didier Drogba was given the award.
John Paintsil highlighted, “Drogba took about eight years to set his record, and Salah has taken nearly four years, so we can say Salah is the African hitting it so hard, but also we have to look at the efforts on how they did it.” I’d say there’s a difference between the two players. Drogba was a powerhouse. Although he spent about eight years, and Salah has spent almost half of that, I will still give the accolade to Drogba. But Salah is not that far from overtaking Drogba. In terms of quality, power, and team ethic, I can say most of Salah’s goals are individual goals.”
According to John Paintsil, Mohamed Salah made his Premier League debut and scored his first goal after signing with Chelsea in 2014. After struggling to settle at Stamford Bridge, the Egyptian player moved permanently to AS Roma in 2016 after loan deals at Florentina and the Italian Capital club and a year later moved to Liverpool.
In contrast to former Chelsea player Didier Drogba, who played for the club from 2004 to 2012 before returning for a brief second stint in the 2014-15 season.
The coach stated, “As I am talking to you now, I am a technical man. I’m a coach, so I will speak from a coach’s point of view. Players who play as a team and work according to the pattern of the team are always brilliant.”
John Paintsil elaborated, “Individual players we don’t add as team players.” But sometimes, when you need individual brilliance, one can go in for them. Drogba was excellent in the air; he was outstanding on free-kicks, he was also good on long-range efforts, and his leadership quality was also good on the pitch and off the pitch. He had all these, and he was a people’s person, socialized more, and as a sportsperson, all these counts. But by the way, Salah is going. He might catch up soon.”
Is John Paintsil, a former player and coach right?. Still, with African players proving their best in the English Premier League each season, it’s a Mohamed Salah time to be acknowledged as well. For Didier Drogba, he remains the legend. What’s your verdict?
