Chelsea 2 Bradford City 4: Mohamed Salah fails to prove he is worthy of a Blue future

Egyptian failed to truly deliver in 70 minutes against lower league opposition

Mohamed Salah will join Fiorentina on an 18-month loan (Getty Images)

Following a quiet ripple of applause, Mohamed Salah trudged off to take his customary position back on the substitute's bench.

For 70 minutes he was given a chance, perhaps his final one in a blue shirt, to prove he is worthy of a future at Stamford Bridge.

It has been well documented that Roma have been in negotiations this week over taking the Egypt international on loan this month in view of a permanent switch come the summer.

This was just his tenth start since joining from Basle for £11m almost exactly 12 months ago and unfortunately, he continued to look out of place.

Granted he laid on an assist for Chelsea's second goal for Ramires and also sent one curled effort just past the post, but one would expect a bit more than that. After all this was a League One effort the Premier League leaders were up against.

At least he had an opportunity to impress. Another player heavily linked with the exit, Andre Schurrle, was left out altogether.

This coming just over 24 hours after manager Jose Mourinho promised he would start amid rumours of a move to Wolfsburg.

Apparently he has suffered a minor injury in the meantime, although perhaps it's more likely that Chelsea have simply received the 'phenomenal' offer Mourinho wanted.

The future of these two players will continue to be the subject of great speculation over the next few days - not that it is Chelsea's main concern after a woeful home defeat that has stunned the nation.