Opinion: The evolution of Mohamed Salah

When he first came to Italy, it seemed as though got off to a quick start but perhaps then flickered out too soon; his time at Roma however dispels this notion, demonstrating a player who has grown as defences learned his game.

He has become, if anything, even more effective - and more consistently so - than he was under Vincenzo Montella.

When Salah first went to Fiorentina, the goals came quickly and furiously. His winter transfer paid dividends immediately, with a goal in his second match for his first Italian side, a crucial opening goal against Sassuolo. And while he didn’t score in the match either immediately before or immediately after that, he soon went on a scoring spree that reminded the world just why Chelsea sought him in the first place.

On February 22nd, he scored his side’s only goal against Torino in a 1-1 league draw. Just four days later, he scored his side’s second in a hugely impressive home win over Tottenham in the Europa League. And in early March, he did it against some of the biggest sides in Italy.

First it was the lone goal, in the second half, against Inter at the San Siro to send his side to a fantastic victory, and four days later, his double won his side the second leg of the Coppa Italia away at Juventus, though that proved to be not enough as Massimiliano Allegri’s men won out as aggregate winners.

In total, that was six goals in seven games across three competitions.

Which only made his subsequent form somewhat head scratching. In the 14 games that followed those seven matches, across the league, the Europa League, and even an international friendly, Salah netted just once; the second goal of a 2-0 win over Sampdoria.

Another goal in May, on the third-to-last matchday against Parma, would be the only other goal Salah would score during his time at Fiorentina. While it was a brilliant start, his goalscoring ability looked to have stuttered greatly towards the end in his abbreviated spell with Montella.

Fears that Salah would repeat that second-half-of-the-season slump with Roma turned out to be unfounded. If anything, it was right in the middle of the season that his goals dried up, with a run of roughly 2.5 months between November and February that the Egyptian failed to score for the side.

But, while mid-spring was the most difficult time for Salah last season, he’s risen to the occasion brilliantly for Roma. He notched against Sassuolo and Carpi in Feburary, scored a brace against Palermo and his old side weeks later, grabbed a vital goal for Egypt in Afrian Cup of Nations qualifying away at Nigeria in later March, and of course scored just two matchdays ago in the home draw against Bologna.

The role of Luciano here can hardly be understated; Spalletti arrived and Salah has thrived. The Italian has been at the helm of Roma for 16 matches now in all competitions, and Salah has scored eight goals in that span, assisting another five: two against Carpi, and one against Fiorentina, Udinese, and Atalanta each.

More often than not, in every match that Spalletti has been involved in, you can nearly be certain that Salah will be involved in a goal.

The numbers underline just how well he’s been playing. Against Bologna he could have had a hat-trick, given how many times he hit the post, and he’s roaring and fit to go in a way reminiscent of Gervinho at his very best.

At Fiorentina, it seemed as if Salah initially thrived but was quickly found out and then could not adjust.

At Roma, however, he is proving he has the adaptability and consistency to be one of the very best wingers in the league.