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MILAN. – He may have failed to impress Jose Mourinho, but Mohamed Salah has the chance at the Africa Cup of Nations to demonstrate just why he has been hailed as the “Egyptian Messi”.“Salah looks great,” Egypt coach Hector Cuper told the asroma.it website on Wednesday. “If he continues the way he’s going, he can become one of the best players in the world. I would love that for him.”

For most, including Chelsea’s demanding fans, Salah probably doesn’t even belong in a sentence that includes the names of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

But one thing is for sure: since his departure from Chelsea, the 24-year-old’s star is on the rise. Roma’s fans owe a big thank you to Mourinho, who handed Salah a resolute ‘thanks but no thanks’ note in February 2015 after just 13 appearances, following an initial 11m euros move from FC Basel 13 months earlier.

Italian supporters are big fans of the faster-paced English game, and when Salah came to Serie A, he was welcomed with open arms.

Salah has since repaid their affection with relentless energy, lightning pace, great ball control and an eye for goal that saw him bag a maiden Serie A hat-trick last month as he continues to build an increasingly strong rapport with Roma striker Edin Dzeko. – AFP.