Harvey Elliott reveals text message from ‘great human being’ Mo Salah after Liverpool’s FA Cup win over Arsenal – despite the Egyptian being at AFCON – as he opens up on the forward’s mentorship role
- Harvey Elliott discussed how Mo Salah goes out of his way to help young people
- Salah is working hard to recover from the hamstring injury that ended his AFCON
- We can’t pan Arsenal fans because they are emotional. The Emirates are currently a great place to watch football – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Harvey Elliott has revealed that Mo Salah texted him after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Arsenal in the FA Cup in January – despite the winger being at AFCON with Egypt.
Elliott, 20, described Salah as an “icon” and “great person” and spoke of how he looks after younger players.
The midfielder has become a regular at Liverpool in recent seasons, after joining from Blackburn Rovers in 2019.
He told Liverpool’s matchday program: “I think until the day I retire I will always learn different things from different players and Mo is a good example of that,” he said.
‘Especially because we played roughly the same position when I first joined the club. I signed as a right winger, (but) knowing it would take a miracle to take his place!
Harvey Elliott says Mo Salah texted him after 2-0 win over Arsenal in FA Cup on January 7
He described Salah, whose immediate priority was Egypt at AFCON, as a “great human being”
‘I had to adapt my game, but there were things that I could take from that position to the midfield where I play now: goal threat, creativity and things like that.
‘With Mo he always tries to push not only myself but also the other youngsters, and to be honest he doesn’t really have to do that.
‘He’s an icon both on and off the pitch, and it would be easy to just focus on himself and making sure he’s breaking records and so on, but he takes the time to check in with us, to make sure to be that we know that. If we need anything, he is always ready to give us tips.
‘For example, even though he was at the AFCON with Egypt, he messaged me after the match against Arsenal in the final round of the FA Cup and asked: ‘How did you like it?’ and so forth. It’s the things he doesn’t have to do, but he’s just a great person and always wants the best for everyone.”
Salah is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, but has done his utmost to return against Burnley on Saturday.
He was substituted during Egypt’s 2–2 draw against Ghana on 18 January in the AFCON group stage and did not feature in the remaining two matches.
Salah returned to England to continue his rehabilitation and had to watch from afar as Egypt were defeated on penalties by DR Congo in the last 16.
Elliott’s Liverpool career has taken off and he credits Salah, who ‘always wants the best for everyone’, as a mentor
Salah was forced out of Egypt’s AFCON Group B match against Ghana with an injury
Despite fears he would be injured for a month, Salah was back in training last week
The original forecast was that he could be out for a month, but he was back on the grass last week, a big boost for Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp has warned that Liverpool will be cautious about bringing Salah back into the fold after injury.
He did not play in Chelsea’s 4-1 demolition last Wednesday and did not feature in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.
Salah is Liverpool’s top scorer this season, with 18 goals and eight assists in all competitions.
His 14 Premier League goals put him at the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts, level with Manchester City star Erling Haaland.
