Italian Club Fiorentina are considering taking legal action against Mohammed Salah after it emerged that the Chelsea winger is refusing to return to the club for a second spell on loan.
Fiorentina signed the Blues wide man on loan in January as part of the deal that saw Juan Cuadrado head to Stamford Bridge for £23.3 million. The loan was originally supposed to run up until 30 June, but the Italian club declared in January that they had the option to extend the loan deal into the 2015-2016 season, plus they had an option to buy the Egyptian if they felt he did well for them.
The problem is that the winger has decided he wants to join another club and has refused to attend pre-season training, as well as rejecting an improved contract offer from the Serie A team.
Salah came to Chelsea from Basel in January of 2014 in an £11 million move. He signed a five and a half year deal, having scored 5 goals in 29 appearances for the Swiss club. At Chelsea he wasn’t able to make quite the same impression, starting just 9 times and netting twice. He was able to get close to replicating his Basel form for the Viola, though, getting 9 goals in 26 appearances during his time in Italy.
Salah’s refusal to head back to Serie A has caused major consternation at Fiorentina, with the club releasing a statement confirming that the matter is now in the hands of their lawyers. How this one pans out remains to be seen, but whatever happens it is unlikely that the winger will still be at Stamford Bridge come the end of the season.