Victor Moses, the forgotten man under Mourinho, seems a man reborn at Chelsea this season, and after his stellar showing against Hull at the weekend, the Nigerian winger could well be set for a starting berth in the first team.
Moses has impressed on the periphery this season; although until now he has been afforded limited playing time, when given the opportunity he has been a bright spark, injecting energy with his driving runs direct style, he offers Conte something different: the option of an ‘old-school’ winger.
Whereas Chelsea’s other options in Hazard, Willian and Pedro are likely to drift inside to create, Moses is happy to drive at the full-back and towards the byline. Many teams these days like playing wide players on opposite flanks to which foot they favour, rendering them more of an inside forward than a winger, but Chelsea’s number 15 shows how natural width can be just as effective.
After a very decent debut season with the blues, the former Wigan and Crystal Palace man was one of those to see his Chelsea career damaged by the changing of the managerial regime, as Jose Mourinho saw his future as elsewhere, albeit temporarily. Despite the successes of his respective loan spells varying, with a less than favourable season at Liverpool prior to a good season at Stoke, he was always arguably one of our better players during pre-season but for whatever reason, he didn’t make the cut under Mourinho.
Deemed either now or never in terms of a career at Chelsea, this season has seen his hard work and impressive performances during pre-season pay off as Conte has entrusted him as a valuable member of our squad, and his importance in the team is set to increase, perhaps thanks to a change in system from Chelsea’s Italian technician.
Hailed by the boss for both his attacking and defensive display against Hull on Saturday, Moses has shown Conte why he could be the very man to fill the vacancy on the right flank of Conte’s preferred formation, 3-5-2. He is athletic and energetic, and possesses the required workmanship for a position as physically demanding as wing-back.
What could be most telling of Conte’s confidence in Moses is his decision to let Juan Cuadrado leave the club this season. When the then Italy coach confirmed that he would be Chelsea’s new manager, he expressed his appreciation of the Colombian winger, making everyone believe he would feature heavily in Conte’s plans for Chelsea. However, perhaps unsure of how many players the squad had returning from loan, and after seeing both Moses and Cuadrado in training, Conte may have believed the former had more to offer, rendering the latter surplus to requirements at the Bridge.
So after a tough few seasons trying to make the grade at Chelsea, he has the backing of the coach, the quality on the pitch and the hunger to take his chance and make this season his definitive season in a Blue shirt.
