Zinedine Zidane hails "great player" Mohamed Salah

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has branded Mohamed Salah "a great player" amid suggestions that the Spanish and European champions are interested in signing the Liverpool attacker.

Salah has scored 19 times and registered six assists in 25 appearances in all competitions for his English club this term.

The 25-year-old, who fired Egypt to their first World Cup since 1990 earlier this season, has been linked with Madrid in recent weeks, with Egypt manager Hector Cuper claiming earlier this month that Los Blancos were interested in signing Salah.

Zidane refused to confirm or deny that his team would pursue the attacker, but the Frenchman was full of praise for a player that signed a five-year contract with Liverpool upon his arrival from Roma during the summer.

"He's a great player. First at Roma and now at Liverpool. He's an important footballer and he's growing more and more, he's young and I appreciate him a lot," Zidane told reporters.

Real Madrid will look to win their third Club World Cup when they face Brazilian side Gremio in Saturday's final.