The Egyptian was loaned out barely a year after joining Chelsea from Basel in 2012 (Getty)
The Egyptian was loaned out barely a year after joining Chelsea from Basel in 2012 (Getty)

Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has explained why Mohamed Salah struggled to settle in west London despite making a storming start to life at Liverpool.

The Egyptian, who moved to Anfield from Roma over the summer, only played 13 Premier League matches for Chelsea after signing in January 2012 before joining first Fiorentina on loan, and then Roma.

Since returning to England with Liverpool he has been in sensational form, scoring 12 times – including a brace against West Ham on Saturday evening.

And Lampard, who spent half a season alongside Salah before leaving Chelsea himself, believes there was too much competition at Stamford Bridge and he needed to leave to gain confidence.

Speaking on BT Sport after Liverpool’s 4-1 win over West Ham, Lampard said: ‘It was huge move at that stage of his career maybe it was a bit early a club like Chelsea.

Salah was in superb form at the London Stadium, scoring twice against West Ham (Getty)

‘It wasn’t easy and he was up against the likes of [Eden] Hazard, Oscar and [Juan] Mata was around there in his early days.

‘So it was tough for him to come in then and he probably wasn’t quite ready for it.

Salah struggled to force his way into Jose Mourinho’s side at Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
Salah struggled to force his way into Jose Mourinho’s side at Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

‘The good thing for him is he’s gone away and come on leaps and bounds. He’s got confidence and personality now that he maybe didn’t have when he was young.

‘But he always had the speed and the touch. But he’s a completely different player to what he was at Chelsea and it is complete credit to him for that.’