Speculation swirls as Zinedine Zidane talks up Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah

It was only a matter of time before either Real Madrid or Barcelona were mentioned.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has heaped praise on Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah, admitting that he is a player he rates 'a lot.' Salah has been in scintillating form since signing for Liverpool in the summer from Roma and is the Premier League's top scorer with 13 goals. It seems somewhat inevitable, then, that his thrilling return to English football following a frustrating spell at Chelsea back in 2014 has caught the eye of a manager who is the coach at a club constantly linked with the best players in the world. Seeing that Salah has established himself as one of the most devastating attackers in European football, links to a club of Real's stature seem like a natural progression. While Zidane wanted to remain respectful while discussing a player under contract at another club, the Frenchman found it difficult completely concealing his feelings for the Egyptian. Here's what he said.

"Salah is a great player. He showed that at Roma, now at Liverpool. He's still young and is improving all the time. I don't talk much about other players, but he is a player I rate a lot," said the Real Madrid manager to an Egyptian journalist at the Club World Cup.

https://twitter.com/Waz612/status/941849257220374528 It's important to remember that just because Zidane has answered a direct question about Salah in a press conference, doesn't mean the player is on the verge of leaving Liverpool. Links to a club like Madrid are just part and parcel of the modern climate in which transfer speculation inevitably follows form. The fact that Zidane has even spoken of Salah may be enough to unnerve some Liverpool fans, there is no suggestion that the 25-yeard-old wants to leave Anfield. https://twitter.com/BenWebbLFC/status/941976278781038593 https://twitter.com/TMEJGM/status/941995508897337344 https://twitter.com/kopice86/status/941740801096343552