Where are they now? Mohamed Salah Edition

Think back to 2015 when Fiorentina last decided to have a season where they played meaningful European football. Those were such simpler times for fans of la Viola. That season brought a young Egyptian to Florence in the January transfer window. His name was Mohamed Salah. Salah was brought to Florence in return for Juan Cuadrado from Chelsea. Although this was on a loan, Fiorentina had the opportunity to make the transfer perminant at the end of the season. This move made it a lot easier to lose a top notch winger like Cuadrado. Salah took off during his time in Florence. He had a nose for goal and was a speedster on the side of the pitch. Essentially, Salah was going to be the next great Fiorentina winger.

After fans started getting excited about the future of the club with Salah as the winger Fiorentina made his loan permanent. Salah had other ideas. He refused the deal and moved on to Roma. Sounds like something other wingers have done to Fiorentina. It was an utter disappointment because of his age and ability. Well clearly Salah was looking for something else and was even linked to Roma before his move to Florence.

Well time goes by like it always does and Salah was transferred this past summer back to England. Now the Egyptian forward is up front for Liverpool. In the short sample size so far this season Salah has excelled in Jurgen Klopp’s system. He has five goals in eight appearances for the Reds. Salah struggled in his first go around in England with Chelsea. Now that he is 25 years old and excelled at two clubs in Serie A, Salah looks like a star in the making for Liverpool.

Not only is Salah excelling in England, but he is a star for Egypt as well. Egypt qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years on two goals from Mohamed Salah against Congo. To make the match more dramatic the winning goal was in the 95th minute during stoppage time. Salah was tasked with taking a penalty with the game on the line. Plenty of stars would have squandered the opportunity under the pressure of the world and the whole country of Egypt. Salah had ice water in his veins and put the ball in the back of the net.

The former Fiorentina winger has definitely turned into the players we all were hoping he would be in Florence. It is always disappointing when a talent comes in and finds their true potential somewhere else. Although Salah was not a long term option in Florence he still was an important part of the team in 2015. Most of us have forgotten Salah was even on the team. Hopefully he continues his success in his career. Its too bad he will not be wearing purple again while scoring these wonderful goals.