Mohamed Salah Facing Career Fight at Chelsea

Jose Mourinho was rightly frustrated with the performance of some of his players this week.

Against League 2 Shrewsbury Town, his much-changed line-up still had a strong feel to it, but Chelsea were forced to huff and puff their way to the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.

In theory they should have breezed their way past opposition that sat 71 places below them in the league pyramid.

Come the full-time whistle, though, they had to rely on Didier Drogba—playing his second game in 48 hours—to eventually win the game 2-1.

Shrewsbury had arguably caused Chelsea more problems thanManchester United had at Old Traffordjust two days earlier.

And when Mourinho was forced to bring Nemanja Matic and Willian on as late substitutes, it was a considerable compliment to everything the Shrews had achieved on the night.

It was also a damning indictment of how the likes of Mohamed Salahhad performed.

"I expect people that have not been playing a lot to raise their level and create problems," said the Chelsea manager afterwards, per BBC Sport.

"I love problems of choice, but it's easy to choose my team for Saturday [against QPR]."

Andre Schurrle was another player marked for criticism, but on the comeback trail from an illness, the World Cup winner could hardly be blamed for a poor display at a rain-swept New Meadow.

Besides, Schurrle has credit with this Chelsea team. His form has dipped at times, but he's played a big role in Chelsea's march to the top of the table.

He has already been influential against the likes of Arsenal this term, also scoring in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the EtihadStadium.

We know what he can deliver, and more often than not, he has done it in Chelsea colours.

Salah, on the other hand, is fast becoming an £11 million mistake.

When arriving from FC Basel in January, Mourinho's capture of the Egyptian seemed like good business. He had not long been the catalyst behind Basel's shock Champions League win at Stamford Bridge and was on the radar of plenty of clubs.

Save for flashes of brilliance here and there, it hasn't quite happened for Salah in the way Mourinho would have hoped. The 22-year-old has been back-up to Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian and Schurrle, and the cameo roles he's been afforded have appeared to damage his development.

Salah hasn't got going.

With so many players away at the World Cup, pre-season seemed like a good time for Salah to cement his place and take the next step in his Chelsea career. He was the senior player in attacking midfield and was given the opportunity to make his mark.

The headlines were instead written by Chelsea's impressive array of academy players who Mourinho had turned to in the absence of bigger names, and Salah disappeared into the background once more.

times this season, playing a total of 98 minutes of football before his start this week.

He's quickly becoming a forgotten man.

After his poor showing against Shrewsbury, he must surely be fearing for his place at Chelsea; not only in the first team but in Mourinho's plans altogether.

The writing has long been on the wall, and now he will be feeling the threat of those hoping to replace him.

Those very youngsters who outshone Salah in the summer are beginning to make loud noises at Chelsea, knocking on the door of the first team.

On Sunday against Manchester United, Lewis Baker was on the bench. He was also an unused substitute against Shrewsbury alongside another exciting talent, Izzy Brown.

Chelsea have an abundance of young stars who Salah is preventing coming through just by being there.

How long will it be before Mourinho decides enough is enough and finally gives a chance to Baker or another young star?

When that time comes, it'll be Salah's place most at risk. After all, it's difficult to imagine Hazard or another attacking midfielder losing their place in that way.

Salah needs a big performance for Chelsea, and he blew his chance for that against Shrewsbury.

Looking at the schedule, when will the next opportunity come?

Between now and January, he has a fight on his hands to save his Chelsea career. Can he?