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'Lonely, naive and physically fragile’ - Mourinho on early Mo Salah

  /  autty

These days everyone knows Liverpool's Mohamed Salah as one of the best players in the Premier League, but he hasn't always been at the top of his game.

Jose Mourinho was manager of Chelsea when Salah first arrived in England, and it's safe to say he wasn't all that impressed.

'He arrived in Chelsea coming from Basel a lonely boy, a naive boy, completely out of context, physically fragile,' he said while acting as a pundit on beIN Sports.

Salah started his professional career in 2010 playing for Egyptian club El Mokawloon before moving to Basel in 2012.

In 2014 he made the move to Chelsea, but only made 13 appearances for the club, making loan moves to both Fiorentina in Serie A. He then went on loan to Roma, and later signed full time for the club.

'Then he goes to Italy, he has the experience of Fiorentina, he has the experience of Rome,' Mourinho continued. 'When he comes back to England, he comes completely adapted to the high level of European football, with more understanding of the game.'

It was on his return to England with Liverpool that Salah really started to shine. Since signing in 2017 he has scored 49 goals in 64 appearances.

'Physically much stronger, you can see his body, his fitness much stronger, and much more confident,' said Mourinho. 'When the player is talented, years they can change a player for the better.'

Liverpool play Everton on Sunday in the Merseyside derby as they look to go back to the top of the Premier League.