Why Mohamed Salah failed to live up to expectations at Chelsea

In what’s already been a reasonably turbulent week for Chelsea followers, what higher time than now to look again on a interval after they let a future Ballon d’Or contender slip by their fingers?

On 26 January 2014, a recent confronted Egyptian by the identify Mohamed Salah arrived at Stamford Bridge. The teen had been linked to a complete host of Premier League golf equipment previous to committing to the Blues, although he selected to linkup with Jose Mourinho; a transfer which finally turned out to be an absolute nightmare.

In two-and-a-half years on Chelsea’s books, Salah would muster simply 13 league appearances and two objectives, twice being shipped out on mortgage to Serie A earlier than lastly securing a everlasting transfer to Roma.

So what precisely went mistaken? How did a person who’s universally recognised as top-of-the-line managers on the planet permit a participant who would go on to interrupt Premier League information depart the membership after having so few alternatives?

Effectively, it would not be the primary time he’d made the same mistake – one thing Messrs Lukaku and De Bruyne will testify to – however did Mourinho the truth is make a mistake in any respect?

Soccer managers are positioned beneath a lot scrutiny, with their each substitution analysed, that we’re all very fast to leap on them the second they appear to have slipped up. But, hindsight is great factor, and as a rule these ‘errors’ aren’t as clear minimize as they appear.

Take Tony Pulis’ therapy of Serge Gnabry for instance. The previous West Brom boss has been roundly mocked for his therapy of a winger who was afforded simply 12 minutes of Premier League soccer throughout his time at The Hawthorns, but is now each a German and European champion in addition to being a world class winger.

However simply because he is sensible now doesn’t suggest he was sensible again then. He is older, wiser and stronger now and clearly a way more rounded participant, so why will we simply assume he was sensible 5 years in the past?

The identical is true of Salah. At 21, he was clearly removed from the bodily specimen which now sits proudly atop the footballing world. There is a ruthless streak to his recreation which wasn’t obvious even throughout his time in Italy, and he is clearly developed as each a participant and an individual, very similar to everybody does out of your early to late twenties.

“”He was only a misplaced child in London. He was a misplaced child in a brand new world. He was a lonely boy, a naive boy, fully out of context and bodily fragile. When he comes again to England he has fully tailored to the excessive stage of European soccer. He had extra understanding of the sport, he was bodily stronger and he was extra assured, far more assured.””

– Jose Mourinho

In fact there’s an argument to be made that it is Mourinho’s job to blood children and provide them an opportunity within the first staff, however sadly there is a time and a spot for this to be accomplished, and having secured Premier League glory in Salah’s second season on the membership, Chelsea clearly weren’t at a stage the place they felt a rogue 21-year-old may very well be afforded an opportunity to develop and make his errors within the first staff.

Not solely was Salah removed from the participant he’s right this moment, the competitors for locations was additionally an enormous think about his lack of growth at Chelsea.

The Egyptian joined a staff brimming with worldwide expertise, together with £30m current arrival Willian, Brazilian playmaker Oscar, Germany worldwide Oscar and a few bloke referred to as Eden Hazard, whereas
Juan Cuadrado’s arrival within the 2015 January switch window was the ultimate dagger to Salah’s Stamford Bridge profession.

Curiously, Salah’s arrival halfway by the 2013/14 may additionally be a think about his lack of development at Chelsea, one thing the aforementioned Cuadrado is an ideal instance of.

Many golf equipment keep away from making big-money strikes in January, partly as a result of it is robust for a participant to adapt to a brand new type of play and new environment midway by a season. Any participant signed in the summertime switch window normally has a number of months to get settled, meet their teammates and mattress into new environment.

Very similar to Salah, Cuadrado wasn’t afforded this luxurious and his Stamford Bridge profession was equally fruitless – he is not accomplished too badly for himself having left west London both. Humorous, that…

The reality is, you possibly can bash Mourinho with the ‘hindsight stick’ all you want, the actual fact of the matter is the Portuguese tactician was hardly ignoring the Salah we see tearing up Premier League defences right this moment.

The Liverpool man has developed and matured rather a lot since his maiden Premier League spell, and Chelsea should not be mocked for ‘failing’ with Salah. If something, his time on the membership could have helped him change into to participant we see right this moment.

Not that that’ll make you Chelsea followers really feel any higher concerning the state of affairs…