Mohamed Salah has scored over 160 Premier League targets for Liverpool F.C.. Think about if these targets had been for Chelsea F.C..
Salah was initially signed by Chelsea from FC Basel on 26 January 2014 for a reported £11 million. Softfootball gathered, the transfer got here after he impressed José Mourinho by scoring towards Chelsea in each the Europa League in 2013 and the Champions League through the 2013/14 season.
At Basel, Salah had already proven his fearlessness. He famously dribbled previous Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanović when Basel confronted Chelsea house and away in Europe. That tempo and directness satisfied Chelsea to behave shortly.
However as soon as he arrived at Stamford Bridge, he was by no means totally trusted or correctly used. Alternatives have been restricted, and confidence pale.
He was despatched on mortgage to ACF Fiorentina, the place he scored six targets in half a season. Then got here one other mortgage transfer to AS Roma, the place he scored 14 league targets within the 2015/16 marketing campaign. Roma made the deal everlasting on 3 August 2016 for round €15 million after his spectacular performances.
Paradoxically, throughout that interval, Chelsea had attacking gamers who weren’t prolific scorers within the league. Willian by no means reached 10 Premier League targets in a single season for Chelsea. Eden Hazard was extra of a creator than a constant high-volume scorer. With artistic gamers like Cesc Fàbregas and attackers like Diego Costa round, Salah may have added direct goalscoring output. However Chelsea selected to not deliver him again.
As an alternative, in June 2017, Liverpool moved decisively. They signed Salah from Roma for an preliminary €42 million, probably rising to €50 million with bonuses. It was a club-record signing on the time.
That very same season, Salah exploded. He scored over 30 targets in all competitions, delivering numbers that no Chelsea participant managed throughout his temporary time on the membership.
What Chelsea noticed as a squad choice, Liverpool changed into a world famous person. And each time Salah scores within the Premier League, some Chelsea followers can solely think about what may have been.
