Exclusive: Chelsea will not release Mohamed Salah, says Blues source

Chelsea source denies media reports that Jose Mourinho is willing to let Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah leave the Blues

Chelsea have no intention to release their Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, Ahram Online has learned.
British media reports claimed that Jose Mourinho, the Blues' Portuguese coach, was willing to let Salah leave Chelsea in the upcoming January transfer window.
"The Egyptian has struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge and is clearly not part of Mourinho's plans for the major matches this season," the London Evening Standard newspaper reported.
"With the window approaching, Salah is keen to secure regular first-team football and Mourinho will not stand in the winger's way if there is genuine interest."
The paper suggested Salah was "on the radar" of the Inter Milan, the Italian club.
But a Chelsea source told Ahram Online that these are "just baseless speculations," confirming that Mourinho still believes Salah is a good choice for his team.
The 22-year-old Egyptian player, who wears the number 17 shirt, moved from Swiss champions Basel to Chelsea in January, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal worth around $18 million.
When asked by Ahram Online to comment, the Chelsea source, who is close to Mourinho, said the coach insists on giving Salah more time to adapt and show his skills.
The source pointed to Mourinho's remarks a few weeks ago, when he said Salah's performance was getting better.
The coach said the Egyptian "kid" will be a good player for Chelsea this season, "as he is getting more adapted," adding you can immediately feel the connection between Salah and the crowd.
"They like him and his style of playing … I think Chelsea did well signing Salah. We knew that the kid was going to need time until he adapted to the best league in the world," Mourinho said.
The Chelsea source confirmed he was not aware of "any talk about Salah leaving the Blues" – which are now at the top of the Premier League with 29 points.
Meanwhile, a close friend of Salah told Ahram Online that he has ruled out the idea of leaving Chelsea, despite appearing less than expected in league play.
"He doesn't care that much about media speculations about his current status at Chelsea," the friend told Ahram Online, adding that Salah "feels very comfortable with the team and feels at ease with the environment at Stamford Bridge."
According to his friend, Salah agrees with Mourinho's advice that it takes time to adapt to Chelsea's playing style.
"Salah is very patient and works hard to meet the expectations of his coach and team," the friend said, adding that the Egyptian player is very keen to stay at Chelsea.
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