Jose Mourinho says Salah was 'naive and lonely' when he arrived at Chelsea

The Liverpool forward, 26, made just 13 Premier League appearances for the Blues before he was shipped out on loan to Italy.

Mourinho, who was in charge of Chelsea at the time, did not think the Egyptian ace was ready for the Premier League when he arrived from Basel.

Speaking on beIN sports, he said: "He arrived at Chelsea coming from Basel. He was a lonely boy, a naive boy, completely out of context and physically fragile.

"And then he goes to Italy and he has the experience of Fiorentina and the experience of Roma.

"When he comes back to England he has completely adapted to the high level of European football.

"[He had] More understand of the game, he was physically stronger and he was more confident, much more confident.

"When the player is obviously talented, years can change the player for the better."

After an unsuccessful spell at Stamford Bridge, Salah made his name with the Serie A side before he joined Liverpool in 2017.

Salah scored 32 goals in his first season back on English soil and has since established himself as one the most clinical strikers in Europe.

He has since won the Premier League Golden Boot, the FIFA Pukas Award and he was named as the African Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019.

Mourinho stands by his decision by ship him out on loan at Chelsea to gain vital first-team experience.

He added: "I asked Chelsea to sign Mohamed Salah, he was inexperienced and not prepared physically to adapt to the style of play in the Premier League.

"Now, he is physically and mentally strong and well adapted to the Premier League because he went to Italy and gained experience.

"He is a wonderful person and I wanted him to stay at Chelsea but he was looking for more minutes."

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