Mohamed Salah has rolled back the years with some of his early performances for Trabzonspor, as the forward has played a key role in a positive start to the season for his new club.
The Egyptian international has been settling into a new environment for the first time in nine years, having announced his exit from Anfield earlier this year, with his contract mutually terminated in the summer.
It marked a frustrating end to a career at Liverpool filled with goals, assists, silverware, and, perhaps most importantly, memories to last a lifetime. While it was unclear where Salah could go next, he ultimately opted for the Turkish Super Lig, signing with Trabzonspor in a surprise deal that looked to turn the team into genuine contenders at the top of the table.
The immediate signs were far from ideal, as a frustrating exit from the Europa League qualifying rounds was compounded by the early departure of the team's head coach, Faith Tekke, who resigned from his post.
That early chaos may have settled, however, with a huge 4-0 win over Galatasaray before the international break, sending a message to the rest of the league, one that continued after the three-week interval with a 3-0 triumph over Samsunspor.
Salah may not have been in the goals in that latest victory, but he did bag an assist for the side, taking his record in the league to seven goals and three assists in his first seven league appearances for Trabzonspor.
With a few records already tumbling in his early weeks, Opta reports that the 34-year-old is the first player to reach 10 goal contributions in his first seven matches of the Turkish Super Lig since 2014/15, when its records began, underlining the achievement he has managed early on in his time with the club.
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The goals and assists have been telling signs of Salah's early contributions, who has now put his team firmly in the title conversation despite the rocky start.
Trabzonspor currently sits fourth in the Turkish Super Lig but is just three points behind league leaders Galatasaray, underscoring how tight the top of the table is at this stage.
Besiktas and Kocaelispor both have a game in hand behind Salah's side, meaning one of the two could leapfrog them, but they would remain just two points ahead in that scenario.
