Fiorentina have taken a step towards landing Mohamed Salah on a permanent basis from Chelsea.

The 22-year old Egyptian winger has starred for la Viola since the start of February while on loan from the Blues and it appears as though he will return to the Stadio Artemio Franchi for the 2015/16 Serie A season.

Reports suggest that Fiorentina will pay the £1.5million required to keep him in Florence next term before splashing £9.5m in the summer of 2016.

Salah joined Vincenzo Montella's outfit as part of the deal which saw Juan Cuadrado move to Stamford Bridge and has enjoyed some early success in Italy having scored seven goals in 13 appearances in all competitions for the fourth-placed outfit.