Fiorentina Chase £23m Compensation Payout From Chelsea Over Failed Mo Salah Transfer

Serie A side Fiorentina are set to demand an estimated £23m in compensation from Chelsea, after the Blues' Egyptian international, Mohamed Salah, ​opted not to join them on a permanent deal last summer, Italian publication ​CalcioMercato are reporting.

Salah signed on loan with the Florence club in February 2015, netting nine goals in 26 appearances, and following his impressive displays Fiorentina looked to exercise a clause in the loan deal to sign him permanently.
However a permanent deal was rejected by Salah, who instead preferred to return to London and fight for his place at Stamford Bridge.

It seems that singular decision by Salah to turn down Fiorentina upset the club so much that they are now seeking compensation for the approximate amount of games he would have played this season, and the fee they paid to Dnipro for Nikola Kalinic as a replacement.
Fiorentina are likely to face stern opposition from Chelsea and Salah's agents, who claim that a clause existed in his contract to reject a move to Fiorentina if he wished to.

Ironically upon his return to England, Salah again found himself surplus to requirements in West London, and was farmed out on a season-long loan to AS Roma.
Much to Fiorentina's disdain, Salah has been one of the standout players in Serie A this season, with fifteen goals in 42 appearances.

As an interesting sub-plot to Salah's unsettled time with Chelsea, the player revealed in April that he turned down a move to Liverpool to sign for Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.

Salah is quoted in the ​Evening Standard as stating that his former club Basel rejected bids from Liverpool, before eventually accepting a £11m offer from Chelsea in January 2014.
"Liverpool had wanted me for a number of months. They had opened talks in October 2013. I was waiting for Liverpool to agree terms with Basel because I really like Liverpool. I was eager to join them."
However Salah claims that a phone call from Mourinho changed all of that and persuaded him to move to Chelsea.

"I received a phone call from Mourinho and that changed everything. He explained the situation to me and told me that he needed me at Chelsea. That is one of the main reasons why I joined Chelsea."
Mourinho left Chelsea December 2015, being replaced by interim boss Guus Hiddink and Italian Antonio Conte will take permanent charge this summer.

The Egyptian will be hoping that he has done enough in Conte's homeland to convince the boss that he is good enough for the Chelsea squad.