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Mohamed Salah has swapped in his blue Chelsea shirt for Fiorentina's purple. The Egyptian winger has signed with the Serie A club on a six-month loan, with reports still conflicting on Fiorentina's options to extend the loan or buy him outright.
.@22mosalah has tonight joined Fiorentina on loan until the end of the season... http://t.co/pSUSOsjo3h #CFC pic.twitter.com/fgyWHkq0VH
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 2, 2015
The loan is part of Chelsea's purchase of Juan Cuadrado. With Cuadrado heading to Stamford Bridge, Fiorentina needed help on the wing, so they got Salah from the Blues.
Salah has not started a single league match for Chelsea this season, and with Cuadrado coming in that was unlikely to change. The Egyptian moved to Stamford Bridge with much fanfare as he was considered one of the top young talents in the world. A brilliant spell at Basel, as well as his play for Egypt, had put him in the spotlight. However, he hasn't broken through with the Blues.
Still just 22 years old, Salah will look to revive his career in Serie A. He should get plenty of playing time at Fiorentina and help them as they push for a Champions League place. The club are back in sixth, but they're only seven points back of third-place Napoli so they can still make a run. Their 29 goals are behind most of the European contenders so they need a boost in the attack, and Salah may be able to provide that.