Adebayo Akinfenwa caused a bit of a stir among his fellow guests on Sky Sports’ Saturday Social with his declaration on Liverpool icon Mo Salah.
The panel were selecting their top 10 Premier League strikers of all time when the ex-AFC Wimbledon attacker – a famous Reds supporter – placed the Egyptian seventh, just ahead of Robbie Fowler. Didier Drogba was ninth on the list, with Jermain Defoe 10th.
That’s despite the 31-year-old playing primarily as a right winger throughout his time at Anfield, with 281 of his 321 games for the club coming in that role (Transfermarkt).
When challenged about the legitimacy of categorising Salah as a striker, Akinfenwa explained: “I want us to have a look, because I want him to let loose on my list.
“He scores loads of goals and the game’s moved on now to what it is. The game’s evolved now, because then [1990s] if you’re talking about strikers, there’s only four or five strikers in the world, period. Back in the day it was 4-4-2, but now you’re playing one number nine.”
Perhaps Akinfenwa was taking liberties by classifying Salah as a centre-forward, although the Egyptian has played in the number 9 position 34 times in his Liverpool career (Transfermarkt), so it’s not completely outrageous to include him among a list of the Premier League’s greatest strikers.
What’s much less debatable is that he belongs among the best forwards in the division’s 31-year history, currently sitting 12th in the all-time scoring charts with 147, with just 16 more needed to catch Fowler (premierleague.com).
As for Drogba, his tally of 104 is impressive, but nowhere near the haul of his former Chelsea teammate.
You can view Akinfenwa’s comments below (from 8:10), via Sky Sports Premier League on YouTube: