Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho revealed that he is working to build a team for the Blues future by hiring fresh players like Egyptian youngster Mohamed Salah, who is 21 years old.
Egyptian winger Salah made his Chelsea debut in their 3-0 victory over Newcastle United in the English Premier League on Saturday, coming on as a substitute 15 minutes before the final whistle.
He was unlucky not to open his goals account, wasting two gilt-edged chances as he demonstrated his ability to cause menace to opponents on the break.
Salah and Nemanja Matic have replaced Juan Mata and Kevin De Bruyne, who joined Manchester United and Wolfsburg respectively, in Chelsea’s squad as Portuguese manager Mourinho works on a future line-up.
“They are young players, hungry for success,” Mourinho told reporters after the victory over Newcastle.
“Nemanja is 25 and Mohamed is 21, so I think you can see we are trying to build a team for the future,” he said.
“Salah is a young, enthusiastic player with great pace and we have seen that he can score goals and create chances for his teammates,” the Portuguese tactician added.
“We also looked at how hard he (Salah) works for the team and decided that he would be a good player for Chelsea and for this league,” Mourinho said.
“He has the character and the ambition to make this move and to be a successful player for us,” he concluded.
Salah joined Chelsea from Swiss side Basel last month on a five-and-a-half year deal for a reported fee of €13 million after the Blues beat competition from English Premier League rivals Liverpool.