Will Magee

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Jose Mourinho has made some big mistakes in the transfer market during his illustrious career. 

With Mohamed Salah breaking his first Liverpool goal record after only five months with the club – claiming the quickest goal return in Reds history after nabbing 14 goals in his first 18 starts – he has established himself as one of the most highly rated players in the Premier League. 

While his £34million move from Roma was met with a lukewarm reception in the summer, his performances since then have received glowing reviews and earned plaudits from almost everyone.

 One man who might feel a twinge of regret at having underestimated Salah is Jose Mourinho, who signed the Egyptian for Chelsea in 2014 only to give him a handful of starts before deeming him dispensable.Salah isn’t the first superstar-to-be who Mourinho has underestimated over the years – here are just some of the others who have thrived after parting ways with the Portuguese coach.

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Kevin De Bruyne

Now widely regarded as one of the most complete midfielders in the world, Kevin De Bruyne signed for Chelsea from Genk just before Mourinho returned for his second spell with the Blues. Despite excelling on loan at Werder Bremen in the 2012-13 campaign, the Belgian was given nine senior outings by Mourinho the following season and subsequently decided to leave for Wolfsburg.

“With De Bruyne, if you have a player knocking on your door and crying every day he wants to leave, you have to make a decision,” Mourinho said at the time. “He was not ready to compete. He was an upset kid, his training [was] very bad.”

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Mourinho didn’t last much longer than De Bruyne at Chelsea in the end. The “upset kid” is now excelling under the watchful eye of one of Mourinho’s greatest rivals, with the fact that the credit will go to Pep Guardiola no doubt even more galling for him.

View photos: Kevin De Bruyne is now one of Pep Guardiola’s most valuable assets

Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku is another player who, had Mourinho got the most out of him at Chelsea, might have helped his boss save his career at Stamford Bridge. As it was, Mourinho let the ambitious youngster leave for Everton despite his obvious goalscoring talents.

Now reunited at Manchester United, at least their separation hasn’t been permanent. “His approach was not highly motivated to come to a competitive situation at Chelsea,” Mourinho said when Lukaku left West London looking for more regular starts at Goodison Park. Having signed him for £75million in the summer, Mourinho clearly had no issue guaranteeing game time this time around.