'Mohamed Salah is the best in the world - but Erling Haaland is ordinary and not good enough'

Liverpool has been told it has the current best player in the world in its squad as former Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart hailed Mohamed Salah's consistent brilliance.

Salah has started the season in fine form, scoring 13 times and registering 11 assists for the Reds, but his level should come as little surprise given the numbers he has been posting since arriving at Liverpool in 2017.

The Egyptian surpassed Robbie Fowler as the club's all-time top scorer in Premier League history earlier this season, while only Steven Gerrard has racked up more Premier League assists than Salah for Liverpool.

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Salah has been at the top of his game for the best part of a decade now and Van der Vaart hailed his longevity, and also said that it is clear that the 32-year-old wants to extend his stay at Anfield beyond the end of the season.

“I think so, yes, [Mohamed] Salah is the best,” Van der Vaart told BetMGM. “I am a big fan of [Kylian] Mbappe but he is not showing it at the moment. You have Vinicius Jr too, but I think that Salah has been consistent for so many years. You can see he feels really at home at Liverpool and he should stay.

“It’s the same with [Trent] Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, they should stay at Liverpool too. Liverpool is a huge club that is doing really well at the moment and I only see Real Madrid as the club you never say no to.”

Meanwhile, Van der Vaart thinks Manchester City is in need of a major overhaul amid Pep Guardiola's side's seven-game winless run. City won the Premier League in six of the last seven seasons — including the last four in a row — but the former Tottenham man thinks the Blues' era of dominance is over.

"Take away his pace, I see Erling Haaland as a normal player," Van der Vaart said. “Technique-wise, he’s not good enough and he can get away with it when City are on form but not when they’re struggling.

“I just think he’s missing something that those top, top strikers have. I might get criticised for that opinion, but I don’t see him at the same level as the top strikers I played with, like Ruud van Nistelrooy. Manchester City need Erling Haaland at the moment, but where is he? That’s why he’s not among that select few world-class strikers.

"I think the intensity that Man City have shown under Pep Guardiola for so many seasons is over. They look very tired to me. You can see it in their faces, Kevin De Bruyne for example, they’re not fresh anymore.

“They need a rebuild. I’m not one who says they need to get rid of Pep, no chance. I believe in his coaching methods but they need to get their transfers right - Ilkay Gundogan was not what they needed in the summer.”