Mohamed Salah's return to the Premier League with Liverpool in summer 2017 couldn't have gone much better. 

While Jurgen Klopp's side may have only finished the season in fourth place, a massive 25 points behind Manchester City, for Salah individually it was a stunning campaign - one that saw him set a record for most goals scored in a 38-game Premier League season. 

The only problem is that, despite Liverpool winning the Champions League and the English crown over the last two campaigns, Salah has struggled to match that same standard of proficiency. 

Indeed, 32 league goals during his debut Anfield campaign was followed by 22 in 2018/19 and only 19 last term. 

Of course, very few would be foolish enough to argue Salah - who reportedly takes home £200k per week - flattered to deceive during his first season at Liverpool. Clearly the Egyptian forward is one of Europe's best players in his position, and one of the deadliest goalscorers in the Premier League. 

But his exploits since have suggested the 2017/18 campaign was something of a freak occurrence, a season in which Salah somehow outperformed even his own impeccable standards of play. 

That is, of course, until this season. As things stand, Salah is the front-runner in the Premier League's Golden Boot race, and if we extrapolate his strike-rate thus far across the rest of the season, he'd end it with 30 top flight goals to his name. 

Granted, that total is still a little short of his record-breaking outlay from a few years ago, but it's certainly in the same ballpark, and a lot closer than what he's mustered up during the last two seasons. 

Of course, whether the 28-year-old can keep up that level of goals remains to be seen. He's actually outperformed his xG by nearly four goals this season, although how that should be interpreted remains a matter of opinion. 

On the one hand, it could be argued that Salah's goals will eventually level out with his xG, meaning his scoring rate will lessen at some point. 

On the other, the fact Salah's scored more times than he should have suggests he's been particularly sharp in front of goal this term, which insinuates a big haul could indeed be on the cards come the end of the campaign. 

But either way, with five of those 13 goals coming last month alone, Salah has earned a nomination for the GIVEMESPORT Fans' Premier League Player of the Month award for December. You can vote for him - or any of the other five candidates - by following this link.