Chelsea 2 Bradford City 4: Mohamed Salah fails to prove he is worthy of a Blue future

Egyptian failed to truly deliver in 70 minutes against lower league opposition

Simon Johnson
Saturday 24 January 2015 18:53 GMT
Comments
Mohamed Salah will join Fiorentina on an 18-month loan
Mohamed Salah will join Fiorentina on an 18-month loan (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Following a quiet ripple of applause, Mohamed Salah trudged off to take his customary position back on the substitute's bench.

For 70 minutes he was given a chance, perhaps his final one in a blue shirt, to prove he is worthy of a future at Stamford Bridge.

It has been well documented that Roma have been in negotiations this week over taking the Egypt international on loan this month in view of a permanent switch come the summer.

This was just his tenth start since joining from Basle for £11m almost exactly 12 months ago and unfortunately, he continued to look out of place.

Granted he laid on an assist for Chelsea's second goal for Ramires and also sent one curled effort just past the post, but one would expect a bit more than that. After all this was a League One effort the Premier League leaders were up against.

At least he had an opportunity to impress. Another player heavily linked with the exit, Andre Schurrle, was left out altogether.

This coming just over 24 hours after manager Jose Mourinho promised he would start amid rumours of a move to Wolfsburg.

Apparently he has suffered a minor injury in the meantime, although perhaps it's more likely that Chelsea have simply received the 'phenomenal' offer Mourinho wanted.

The future of these two players will continue to be the subject of great speculation over the next few days - not that it is Chelsea's main concern after a woeful home defeat that has stunned the nation.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in