Former England striker Wayne Rooney has showered heaps of praise on Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby clash.

Rooney has included Salah in his best Everton and Liverpool XI he has played with and against while writing in his column for The Sunday Times.

The former Everton striker feels that the 28-year-old winger has been playing at the peak of his form, and has compared his impact at Liverpool to that of Cristiano Ronaldo during the Portuguese’s time at Manchester United.

While Rooney feels that Salah doesn’t put enough defensive shifts, he is a threat for opposition defenders and midfielders.

Rooney wrote for The Times: “Mo Salahis starting to do what Ronaldo did for Manchester United, in terms of just being there and not really getting back to defend but always being a threat so that if you’re a defender or midfielder playing against him. You’re terrified of him on the counterattack.”

Ronaldo joined United at an early age and took time to settle in. Once he established himself as a key player under Sir Alex Ferguson, his goal-scoring records improved. In 2006-07, he scored 23 goals in all competitions, in 2007-08, he scored 42 goals in all competitions, and in 2008-09, he scored 26 goals in all competitions.

Salah, who is on £200k-per-week wages at Liverpool, became an instant hit at Merseyside. In his first season, the Egyptian scored 44 goals in all competitions. The following season, he scored 27 goals, and in 2019-20, he has managed 20 goals in all competitions with plenty of games left to play.