When Victor Moses was signed in 2012 by manager Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea had just won the Champions League, so a £9 million move from Wigan to a team challenging for honours must have appealed to the Nigerian international.
Four years on and under Chelsea’s fifth manager since Di Matteo left the club, Moses appears to have finally found his space within the Chelsea squad. New manager Antonio Conte’s system of playing with wing-backs seems to suit the winger and he has now started the last two games, recording his second goal of the season at the weekend against champions Leicester City.
Such a run of games for Chelsea would have seemed far distant during Moses’ loan moves to three different Premier League clubs between 2013 and the new campaign. Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham all tried to revive the talent of a player whose trickery on the flanks saw him play 74 games for Wigan.
After Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, Antonio Conte reverted to his tried and tested formation of playing three central defenders and operating with wing backs. This has allowed Moses to be deployed on the right flank, where he is able to join in on attacking moves, while having the protection of N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic.
This run of games for Moses will be good news for Nigeria’s Super Eagles as they push for qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Team principal Gernot Rohr will no doubt be pleased by Moses’ club form as he seeks to qualify the team for its third consecutive final since it missed out on qualification to Germany 2006.
Although Moses’s club form is on a rise, it appears John Obi Mikel’s is limited. The captain of the Rio Olympics bronze medal team is yet to start a game for Chelsea this season and has been linked with a move away from the club. It would seem there is only room for one Nigerian at any single point in time in the Chelsea squad.