With an incredible 27 goals from 33 appearances so far this season, Mohamed Salah is already enjoying the third most prolific campaign of his career.
As Liverpool chase the quadruple, that total is only going to rise between now and May with the Reds involved in at least another 13 games.
Keep progressing in the Champions League and FA Cup and that total can be as high as 20.
Replicating his record-breaking 44-goal haul from 2017/18 might currently look slightly out of reach for the Egyptian, who scored his 150th goal for the club last month, but it’s clear that if Jurgen Klopp’s men are to enjoy the most successful of seasons, Salah will be front and centre of it.
Yet there is one man with Liverpool allegiances who is currently not enjoying every aspecf of the forward’s free-flowing form in front of goal.
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Salah’s recent brace against Leeds United took him to 152 goals in all competitions for the Reds and moved him up to ninth in their all-time scoring list.
Owen is the next man above him with 158 goals.
Almost certain to be overtaken in the coming weeks, the former England international is, tongue-in-cheek, dreading the day Liverpool’s Egyptian King scores his 159th Reds goal.
“Oh no! I didn’t know that, though I knew he was getting close,” Owen joked when speaking exclusively to the Liverpool ECHO at a VIP event celebrating 60 years of the Football Pools panel.
“When kids pull me in the streets, none of these youngsters know me anymore. Their dads are saying, 'He used to play football.'
“It’s the only thing I’ve got on people now, is to say, 'You know I’ve still scored more goals than Mo Salah?' and everyone can’t believe it!
“Once he goes past me, I won’t be able to have that anymore!
“In all seriousness, he has been phenomenal at Liverpool and just got better and better and better.
“He has been part of an amazing team, yes, but he has been one of the reasons why it is an amazing team.
“Absolutely brilliant, I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s dedicated, he’s fit all the time, he’s got a great attitude in terms of he wants to play every game. I think the world of him.”
Salah has arguably been the best player on the planet over the past 12 months, thought a lack of silverware in a disappointing Liverpool season cost him when it came to the Ballon d’Or last year.
The 29-year-old finished seventh, and earlier this week admitted his shock at not being voted higher.
Owen won the famous award himself in 2001 and remains the only Reds player to ever claim the accolade.
However, with Salah already winning the League Cup this season, the former Liverpool striker has backed the Egyptian to follow in his footsteps.
“He’s certainly got the ability,” Owen pondered. “But as well know, even in my case, you’ve got to have a great year.
“I scored 31 goals for Liverpool in the calendar year and won five trophies. For England too, I had a great time and scored a hat-trick away in Germany when we beat them 5-1.
“Everything’s got to align in the same year and you’ve got to win something.
“Liverpool have won the League Cup. If they now win the League or win the Champions League and Mo Salah continues to have the season that he did last year, then absolutely he’s got an outstanding chance of winning it.
“Based on performances last year, he could have easily won it. Performance-wise, he probably should have won it.
“But with Liverpool not winning the Champions League and not winning the Premier League, that went against him I think.
“You need both the team to do well and the individual to do well so fingers crossed it’s going to happen this year.”
With Salah continuing to shine for club and country, questions about his future persist with the forward nearing the final 12 months of his Liverpool contract.
The Reds are reportedly willing to make him the best-paid player in their history, with the forward publicly voicing his desire to stay at Anfield. However, there remains no breakthrough in negotiations.
Owen found himself in a similar situation at Liverpool when he was lured away by Real Madrid in the summer of 2004.
But while the former striker made the decision to leave the Reds, he’s confident Salah won’t follow in his footsteps with Liverpool’s status in European football now very different to what it was 18 years ago.
“I would be surprised, I must admit, if Mohamed Salah left,” Owen admitted. “Why wouldn’t he stay? He’ll be getting a great offer.
“Yes, it’s his main contract of his life really. This is when he has been absolutely at the peak of his powers and it’s his last big contract probably. You can understand that everything needs to be right on both sides.
“But when I was in that situation, we were coming third, fourth, fifth, sixth or whatever in the league. There were other teams who could offer you something, like a Real Madrid or a Barcelona, because we weren’t winning the league every year.
“But where would you go now? There is nobody bigger than Man City or Liverpool at the moment.
“He’s certainly not going to go to anyone in the UK. Barcelona and Real Madrid aren’t currently the force of old. Paris Saint-Germain I can’t imagine, why would you want to go to the French league when you’re playing in the Premier League? The same goes for Germany. There is nowhere else.
“Every player is queuing up to come to Liverpool and Man City at the minute. If you’re there, I don’t know why you’d give it up.
“I certainly can’t see any reason why he won’t say and I’d be surprised if there wasn’t an announcement soon.”
As Liverpool go in search of an unprecedented quadruple, the possibility of future silverware at Anfield will inevitably help sway Salah’s mind when it comes to agreeing his next contract.
Owen might not have won the Premier League or European Cup during his own time with the Reds, but he did famously lift the treble with the club in 2000/01.
And he believes Liverpool’s recent League Cup success will motivate them to win further trophies and maybe even another Premier League title.
“First of all it takes a great team. Second of all, it takes you keeping everybody fit,” Owen said. “All of your big players fit. Liverpool have got both at the moment.
“Okay, they’ve got a couple of small problems but they’re more a matter of days and weeks than weeks and months.
“Basically Liverpool have got a near fully fit squad to choose from and that’s key. To get to the end of February and still have everyone fit and to be in all four competitions is quite amazing. Staggering really.
“Getting that first one in the bag takes the pressure off and allows you to go and feel a little bit liberated. There are bigger fish to fry than the League Cup, no-one is pretending that it’s the big competition.
“But when you retire at the end of your career, it’s not about what did you qualify for here, there and everywhere. You remember the things that you won and the days out that you had. The happiness of the fans, the party afterwards after you’ve won something.
“They are the moments and Liverpool have just experienced another, which will give them all the motivation they need to do it again.”
He continued: “No-one can say for certain (who will win the league) and everyone has an opinion.
“A lot of people thought it was all over a few weeks ago but I always maintain that a lot can happen.
“There was no way both teams were going to go until the end of the season not having a slip-up, and of course they’ve got to play each other as well. There was always going to be that chance.
“It had to be Man City who slipped up next for Liverpool to have this chance. If Liverpool had slipped up, it would have looked ominous.
“Now Man City have slipped up, all of a sudden it’s game on. Liverpool win their game in hand and and it’s three points again and they still have to play Man City. It couldn’t be more in the balance.
“Liverpool fighting on all fronts, it’s brewing up into being an amazing season.”
Michael Owen was speaking exclusively to the Liverpool ECHO after being unveiled as a member of the new-look Football Pools panel team alongside Reds legend Ian Callaghan, former Everton Women goalkeeper Rachel Finnis-Brown and Rangers icon Derek Johnstone.
