Liverpool and Mo Salah developments will always trigger some Hull City regret: View | OneFootball

Mo Salah could've joined Hull City's previous Egyptian contingent

Mohamed Salah has become one of the greatest players, not just in the Premier League, but in world football in recent times.

The Liverpool winger has won seven major honours throughout his long-standing spell on Merseyside, as well as going on to receive numerous individual accolades and break an abundance of domestic, club and international records across his career.

However, as is the case with any player, Salah's career could have taken a whole different trajectory when in its infancy, despite the fact the Nagrig-born attacker was on the radar of multiple English clubs from a very young age.

Although this is through the benefit of hindsight, Hull City are one of those clubs who failed to land Salah's services, leaving Tigers fans with a major sense of 'what-if?', given what the 32-year-old has since gone on to achieve.

Hull City failed to add Mohamed Salah to their Egyptian contingent

Back in the summer of 2012, the landscape of the East Yorkshire side was a complete contrast to its current standpoint, with the aim under the Allam family, who acquired the club in late 2010 amid fears of liquidation, to reach the Premier League, years after the club's maiden two-year stint ended in relegation.

Steve Bruce then utilised two connections in one with a loan switch for Ahmed Elmohamady, who he'd previously worked alongside at Sunderland, as well as future signings in the form of Ahmed Fathi and Gedo, with the latter of those initially enjoying a purple patch after signing in January 2013 with goals against the likes of Birmingham City, Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic.

The duo, who arrived from Al-Ahly shared the same agent as then 20-year-old Salah, in the form of Craig Honeyman, who then revealed the interest from these shores whilst the current Reds talisman was still honing his craft for El Mokawloon.

The Daily Mail would then speak to Honeyman in 2018, whilst revealing that Salah was offered to a plethora of sides outside the top six.

Salah's former agent stated.

However, in a contrast to those revelations, prior to an encounter between Liverpool and Newcastle United in 2019, it was claimed that Bruce had never attempted to sign the Egyptian, despite numerous scouting missions.

“I took a few from Egypt,” he said. “But I missed him.”

After shining for FC Basel, Salah would eventually move to the top flight with Chelsea in January 2014.

And, after an underwhelming first year at Stamford Bridge under José Mourinho, it was reported by the Mirror in January 2015 that Salah had emerged alongside Aaron Lennon as two wingers who could have moved to the MKM whilst Hull were in the midst of a relegation battle.

However, once again, nothing would materialise between the two parties.

Salah would then flourish for Roma and return to England with Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp in the summer of 2017, signing for a reported £34.3m.

In his first season at Anfield, the winger would win the PFA Players' Player of the Year award and Premier League Golden Boot in a campaign which saw him net 44 goals in 52 games across all competitions - 32 of which came in the top flight.

Salah would then go on to win the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19 alongside former Tiger, Andy Robertson, and win the Golden Boot for a second successive season, before a tally of 19 goals in 34 games helped end Liverpool's 30-year wait for the league title.

It would take just 159 appearances for the Egyptian to net his 100th goal for the club in a 2-2 draw in the Merseyside Derby, before becoming the first player at the club since 1987 to hit at least 20 goals in all competitions for four consecutive seasons.

In September 2021, he hit 100 overall Premier League goals and 100 league strikes for Liverpool, as well as becoming the club's record scorer in the UEFA Champions League just a month later.

In a season which saw Klopp's men collect the EFL Cup and FA Cup after missing out on a 'Quadruple', Salah would win his third Premier League Golden Boot, as well as the Playmaker of the Season award.

The last two seasons of the German's tenure saw the pacey wide man continue to break down records, which saw him hit 200 goals for Liverpool in March 2024, and win the club's Player of the Season award for the fourth time.

It's fair to say that the man who has also been named African Footballer of the Year on two occasions is one of Hull's main transfer regrets, as the turbulent trajectory which followed the club in the years which followed this near miss, may not have transpired through his personal exploits.