Mourinho has revealed that Chelsea's decision to purchase Mohammed Salah from Basel was contingent on Juan Mata's decision to leave Chelsea.

According to the manager, Mata's decision to leave Chelsea was a huge surprise for the club.

"It was a surprise for us that Juan was leaving," Mourinho said, according to ESPN. "We were not prepared to make a bid or try to bring a player to replace Juan in the squad, so everything happened very, very fast. We had to work on that and try to see which options could be good options for us.

"And, finally, when we decided to go for Salah we started from zero. There'd been no contact with the club or player. We didn't even know who his agent was. We knew absolutely nothing. The first step was an agreement with the club, which we did officially with Basel."

It is surprising to hear Mourinho state that he did not expect Mata's departure, especially after he himself stated openly that the door was open for the Spaniard to leave. Moreover, Mata suffered under Mourinho after being hailed as Chelsea's top star for two straight years. The midfielder managed a total of 13 Premier League matches (11 starts) in the Blues' first 22 games and was often forced out of his central position. The result? Zero goals and two assists for the superstar.

Salah is only 21 years old and fits in with the dynamic duo of Eden Hazard and Oscar. His youth also makes him malleable to Mourinho's methods and decision making, thus making him more likely to succeed in the system.

"I like the fact that he can play the same way as our attacking players do, which is players with adaptability to play right, left or behind the striker in the model we have with normally -- one striker and three behind the striker," said Mourinho. "He's fast, creative, enthusiastic. When we analyze him he looks the kind of humble personality on the pitch, ready to work for the team and adapt to a new life."

Are you happy with Salah's addition to Chelsea?