Victor Moses was signed from Wigan in 2012 for a fee of £9 million. However, he has never been able to force his way into the side. But with a new manager at the helm, now could finally be the Nigerians chance to become a permanent fixture in the team.
The 25 year-old has spent the past 3 seasons on loan at Stoke, Livepool and West Ham. All 3 had similar levels of success. He made 19 appearances each for Stoke and Liverpool, and 21 during his spell at West Ham. Whilst he scored 1 goal each for West Ham and Liverpool, and 3 goals for Stoke.
Arguably Chelsea’s best player in the pre-season of 2014/15, it was a surprise to many that the club opted to loan him out and instead sign Pedro.
The Nigerian has performed well in all pre-season games he appeared in this year too. He offered a physical presence out wide, something that the Blues often lacked last season. His powerful running at defenders mirrored the aggressive enthusiasm associated with Antonio Conte.
He also has an eye for goal. Many of Chelsea’s attacking players failed to reach double figures in the goal-scoring tally last season. Whereas, despite only actually playing for the club for one full season, Moses has 10 Chelsea goals to his name.
Admittedly, the former Latic does not possess the greatest ability on the ball, but his work rate makes him a great addition to any side. His willingness to get up and down the pitch, adding a threat going forward, and helping out his fullback going backwards, makes him a perfect Conte player.
In fact, he has been dubbed as ‘Chelsea’s Giaccherini’, a player Conte deployed to great effect at the European Championships this past summer. Operating on the left of midfield, just like Moses has in pre-season, his energetic runs caused a nuisance for the opposition. A key example of this was his goal to open the scoring vs Belgium in the group stage.
The 25 year-old will not start every game next season. In fact, with a host of wingers such as Hazard, Willian, Cuadrado, Pedro and Kenedy already in West London, Moses may find himself on many occasions, sitting on the bench. That is why it may be beneficial for Chelsea to finally move Moses on for a fee just a bit higher than the £9 million they paid for him.
However that ultimately would be a terrible decision. Moses knows he’s not a guaranteed starter, which will edge him on to work even harder, and improve. He’s also a great option to have coming off the bench. Whether that’s to add energy going forward to grab a goal, or if that’s to help out the defence to see out the result.
One way or another, this is the Nigerian’s most important season to date. Giving him a season to prove himself would do no harm. If he performs, great. If not, we can still sell him on for a profit.
