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Dejan Lovren says Mohamed Salah's insatiable appetite for success is driving him on in search of glory with Liverpool.

The Croatian defender, who has become close friends with the Egypt international, is backing Salah to shatter Ian Rush's club record of 47 goals in a season which has stood since 1984.

Salah has netted 40 times in 45 appearances during a stunning debut campaign for Liverpool . He is just one goal away from equalling the Premier League record for most goals in a 38-game season jointly held by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.

With four Premier League matches still to go and at least two more in the Champions League, Lovren believes Salah is ready to soar even higher.

“The season is not over yet. Mo still has time to break many more records,” Lovren told the ECHO.

“I believe he can do even better (than 47). I told him.... actually I don't want to say what I told him, but I think Mo will say at the end of this season what I told him.

“It was something important and I also told him I believe in him. I saw in his eyes that he also believes we can achieve great things.”

Salah has surpassed all expectations since his £36.9million move from Roma last summer - becoming only the third Liverpool player in history to score 40 goals in a season.

The winger goes into Saturday's showdown with lowly West Brom having netted eight goals in his last five outings.

Lovren knew the Reds had invested wisely the moment he saw Salah in training at Melwood last July.

“No, he hasn't surprised me,” he said.

“From pre-season it was clear that this was a guy with great quality who wanted to work hard and score every time he plays, even in the training sessions.

“When you have a guy like that with that talent and that attitude on the training ground, it's special.

“Mo is never satisfied. If he scores two, he's thinking about the other chance he missed for a third one and is upset after the game.

“That's what makes the difference between big players and top, top players I'd say. He's one of the best players in the world at the moment.”

Lovren and Salah have struck up a good rapport over the course of this season.

They regularly feature on each other's social media accounts with Salah joking on Thursday that Lovren is 'always talking'.

“Yeah, we get on well. Every day there are some jokes between us,” Lovren added.

“It's quite funny to be in the same dressing room as Mo. He's such a down to earth guy.

“It's enjoyable to have him as a team-mate. He's a real team player.

“He hasn't changed at all this season and why should he? Even if you score 40 or 50 goals, I think people know where they come from and they respect all the other people. They just work to be better every day and that's what Mo does.”

Lovren has yet to quiz Salah about what the Reds can expect against his former Roma in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

“No, he's just concentrating on the game against West Bromwich and hoping to score two or three more goals,” he said. “We'll talk about Roma after that.”