After flirting with a move to Liverpool, Mohamed Salah opted to join Premier League rivals Chelsea with Mourinho immediately replacing Juan Mata, who was sold to Manchester United.

Salah impressed for Basel in this season’s Champions League group stages and his performances against Chelsea, whom he scored twice against, convinced Mourinho to buy the 21-year-old for a reported £11 million.

However, he has failed to impress for the Blues during his three substitute appearances so far. In his latest outing against Manchester City in the FA Cup, when he replaced Eto’o for the start of the second half, the winger seemed woefully out of place as Chelsea crashed out in the fifth round of the cup.

According to TEAMtalk, Mourinho believes Salah needs six months to settle in the Premier League and might well have a breakthrough campaign next season.

He said, “He was not in the game (against Manchester City). He has that (pace) but he was not in the game. It’s important for him to come step by step and try to improve and adapt. This is a different world, a different quality of football to the one he comes from.”

He added, “So I think Mohamed needs six months to adapt to our game and the demands of the Premier League. I am calm and I’m telling him he has time because we have confidence in him. I think next season is Mohamed Salah’s breakthrough season.”