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Exclusive: Chelsea told 'special' Salah could return

29 May 2026 10:05 BST | 4 min read

Mohamed Salah, Chelsea

Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith | Digital Content Producer

Accredited sports journalist covering football since 2020

Ex-Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly has urged his former club to re-sign Mohamed Salah on a free transfer this summer following the expiration of his contract at Liverpool.

The Egypt legend played his final game for Liverpool against Brentford last weekend and he will officially depart Anfield on a Bosman deal in July, with multiple clubs across world football understood to be keeping tabs on his situation.

Salah has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia for the past few years, but Desailly has told Chelsea to bring him back to Stamford Bridge this summer, and he believes that a return to London would be appealing to the 33-year-old.

“Salah. Bring Mohamed Salah back,” Desailly told FootballTransfers, on behalf of MrRaffle.com" href="https://mrraffle.com/" target="_blank">MrRaffle.com, when asked who new manager Xabi Alonso should sign during his first transfer window as Chelsea boss.

“You know, he's been there before and it didn't work out. Maybe Salah wants a London club for his family, for a better quality of life. It’s not that Liverpool is unlivable, but London might be much better for them. I would say he is one of those experienced players who can bring that special element into the system.”

Salah made just 19 first-team appearances across a two-and-a-half year spell at Chelsea from 2014 to 2016, and he was sold to Roma for a measly fee of just €15 million following a successful loan spell with the Serie A side. The 33-year-old subsequently joined Liverpool for €42m in 2017 and he netted a whopping 257 goals in 442 games for the Reds.

In addition to Salah, Desailly also believes that Chelsea should pursue a deal for his former Liverpool team-mate Darwin Nunez, who left Anfield to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal last summer.

“I also love Darwin Nunez,” Desailly added. “Yeah, he's not that experienced yet, but I feel that at Chelsea he can perform. He can bring something special into the system. If he plays by himself up front, he can really be a great point of reference in a Xabi Alonso system.”

Nunez was deregistered from Al-Hilal’s list of foreign players for the Saudi Pro League in February and he hasn’t played a competitive game for the club for over three months. It’s understood that an agreement is in place for him to depart this summer, and Desailly believes Chelsea should pursue a shock deal, with the club potentially in the market for a new striker amid the uncertain future of Liam Delap.

Darwin Nunez is set to leave Al-Hilal this summer

Analysis: Would Mohamed Salah rejoin Chelsea?

Although Desailly wants Chelsea to submit a contract offer to Salah this summer, a deal is highly unlikely to be agreed due to the wages he will demand to join the Blues.

Chelsea have operated within a strict wage budget under new owners BlueCo and they are unlikely to deviate away from this to secure Salah’s signature, especially as he is now 33 years old and endured a difficult 2025-26 campaign.

Furthermore, it seems fairly improbable that Salah would want to return to Chelsea, with the Egypt legend expected to depart England altogether this summer rather than join one of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals.