Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has praised the level of performances that Mohamed Salah has produced for Liverpool this season.

Last summer, the Merseyside giants signed Salah from Roma - despite the winger's previous poor spell at Chelsea - but the Egyptian international has scored 43 goals during a stellar campaign on Merseyside.

Conte has acknowledged that he had been familiar with Salah from his time in Italy, but did not expect the attacker to display such a ruthlessness in front of goal.

At a press conference, the 48-year-old told reporters: "I think this season, for Salah, is a fantastic season. For sure we are talking about a really good player. I knew him when he played in Italy, but to wait for this type of season, it would be very difficult to predict this type of season for Salah.

"We are talking about a player with specific characteristics: good technique, and also very fast, but this season I'm seeing him very clinical. Every opportunity, every chance he has, he is taking them very well."

Salah has also been named as the PFA Player of the Year, edging out Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne.