Super Salah  (Sky Sports)

Mohamed Salah has surprised Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella with his impact as he looks to maintain his form against Juventus, writes Matthew Stanger.

Montella said: “We’re getting a player in Salah who will have to adapt to our football, this is a league that’s different from the Swiss and the English. Cuadrado can also play in more positions than he can.

"He’ll serve as an understudy to Joaquin in a 3-5-2, unless we change the formation, but it would be a shame to do that. I hope we can find a place for him in our five-man midfield, but it’s hard to be on the same level as Cuadrado.”

After losing Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea in January and acquiring Mohamed Salah on loan, Montella didn't seem too convinced about his team's side of the bargain. Over the previous 18 months no Fiorentina player had contributed to more Serie A goals (24) than Cuadrado, while in contrast Salah had been afforded only 30 minutes of Premier League action by Chelsea this season. It was easy to understand his frustration.

But Salah's explosive start for the Viola has demanded a reassessment, with the Egyptian winger scoring four times in his first six matches, only three of which he started. No longer is Montella worried about him needing time to adapt, musing last week: “Who did better out of the Cuadrado exchange? Fiorentina earned a lot of money and, on the pitch, they are similar players."

The coach's rethink followed Salah's crucial strike to kill Tottenham's hopes of a Europa League fight-back in Florence. Three days later, the 22-year-old scored the winning goal against Internazionale at the San Siro to earn Fiorentina their first victory in that fixture since May 2000. Salah isn't just rewriting his own records following a difficult year at Stamford Bridge.

After scoring three times in four matches against Chelsea for Basel - helping the Swiss side to back-to-back Champions League victories against the Blues last season - Salah was snapped up in January 2014 for £11m. Regarded as a player with similar tenacity to Willian and Oscar, he was expected to buy into Jose Mourinho's desire for diligence - although failing to take a clear-cut chance on his debut against Newcastle revealed that the technical side of his game required some work.

Time to develop is a precious commodity in a title-chasing team, however, as Salah has discovered to his detriment. He played in only eight matches for Chelsea in the current campaign - three fewer than last season - before voicing his excitement at a new challenge upon joining Fiorentina.

"I spoke with the club and expressed my eagerness to embark on a new adventure in order to play with more continuity,” he said. "I want to do well in Florence and win here. I'm not going to go back to Chelsea. I'm young, I can improve in everything. I hope to do it here in Florence."

While Mourinho has insisted that Salah's future at Stamford Bridge remains undecided, the forward is relishing the opportunity to showcase his talent, highlighted by the statistics.

After scoring twice from 21 shots in his ten Premier League matches in 2013/14, he has managed three Serie A strikes from just seven attempts at Fiorentina as well as raising his passing accuracy from 82.3 per cent to 88.2 per cent.

Perhaps of more interest to Mourinho is that Salah has also reduced the frequency with which he has been dispossessed, while his average chance creation of 2.5 per game - up from 0.9 at Chelsea in the previous campaign - is also the highest of any Fiorentina player.

This impressive start has forced Montella to change his tune on a player who initially seemed unwanted at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. After previously expressing his reluctance to alter his formation to suit Salah, the manager admitted after victory against Inter: “I made a tactical decision and wanted to make the most of Salah’s extraordinary form. I think he can play any position in attack. He attacks the space well."

Salah's immediate impact has aided Fiorentina's 12-game unbeaten run, with a trip to Juventus next in Thursday's Coppa Italia semi-final first leg. If the 22-year-old can shock the Italian champions as much as he has Montella, then the Viola could stand a strong chance of making the final.