Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou claims even 'world-class' Liverpool star Mohamed Salah would struggle at Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou believes even Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah would struggle to maintain his stellar form this season if he were at Spurs. The Egyptian winger has racked up 21 goals and 17 assists in 27 appearances across competitions so far this term.

Despite the speculation surrounding his contract this season, which expires in six months, Salah has shown no signs of decline and continues to perform at the highest level.

Meanwhile, Son Heung-min has seven goals and six assists in 23 matches this campaign, underwhelming by his standards. However, Postecoglou has backed the 32-year-old to turn things around and return to his best.

He insists that even Salah would falter if he were at Tottenham, who are 12th in the Premier League table. Speaking ahead of his side's Carabao Cup clash against Liverpool on Wednesday (January 8), Postecoglou said (via The Guardian):

“People need to have a little bit of context. Mo is a world-class player but if you put him in our team now I’m not sure he’ll have that same level of performance because of the situation we’re in as a group.

"You need a team that’s in good form, creating opportunities, playing on the front foot, having a really solid foundation of a defence that is ­cohesive. None of these things exist at the moment [at Spurs]. We’re ­relying on individual moments.

“Mo is an unbelievable player but he’s playing in a fantastic team that are flying. I’d hazard to say that if you put Sonny in Liverpool’s team, I reckon his goalscoring return would be decent."

Son has scored 169 goals and provided 90 assists in 431 appearances for Tottenham since joining the club in 2015.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot on facing Tottenham in Carabao Cup after 6-3 Premier League win in December

Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-finals, Liverpool boss Arne Slot was asked about facing Tottenham after beating them 6-3 in the Premier League in December.

The nine-goal thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw a brace each from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah, while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai got on the scoresheet as well. Meanwhile, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Dominic Solanke netted for Spurs.

Slot insists that although the Lilywhites conceded six goals, scoring three against an in-form Liverpool side was an accomplishment in itself. He said (per the club's official website):

"I think what we expect before we go into the game is that two teams have such a clear identity and playing style, that is I think what most people expect to see tomorrow again as well. Large parts of the away game two weeks ago, we could show our identity. But there were definitely also parts in the game where they showed how good of a team they are."

"Scoring three goals against us is also an accomplishment. I know we scored six in the game as well but scoring three against us, not many teams have done [that] until now."