Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah is edging closer to a permanent departure from the club as reports have emerged that he has agreed terms with Serie A giants Roma.
The Egyptian international has failed to make much of an impression in West London since his arrival at the club during the 2014 January transfer window from Swiss outfit Basel.
His career with the Barclays Premier League outfit was placed in doubt following his omission from the squad for the pre-season tour of the United States, and it appears Roma have beaten a number of top European clubs to the signing of the highly-rated star due to the lure of Champions League football.
Whilst terms between player and club have been agreed, the Italians are yet to meet Chelsea’s £17 million valuation for the Egyptian, but they remain hopeful of striking a deal before the weekend according to Star Sport.
After being frozen out by Blues boss Jose Mourinho at the start of last season, Salah would see out the remainder of the season on-loan with Fiorentina, where he rediscovered some of his best form and scored a stunning brace against Juventus in a Coppa Italia fixture.
Viola were very keen to re-sign the 23-year-old for the new campaign and were reportedly set to take legal action against the player as they believe he has refused to honour the second year of a loan spell [via BBC Sport].
Rivals Napoli looked to have edged ahead in the race to land Salah after reports in Italy [via Goal] on Wednesday afternoon claimed they were willing to offer former Real Madrid winger Jose Callejon as part of a swap deal. That proposal might have interested Mourinho, as he managed the Spaniard between 2011-13 whilst in charge of Los Blancos.
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If Roma are successful in negotiating a deal with the Blues then Salah is likely to become the second arrival from the Premier League at the Stadio Olimpico this summer following strong reports that Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is set join on season-long loan [via Guardian Sport].