Player Profile: Victor Moses (Chelsea)

The jump from the Championship to the Premier League is a huge one for any player, whatever their age. And reaching the pinnacle of the English game today has become a mammoth task for many a young player as the English market is excessively overpriced and clubs have long resorted to scouring Europe and the wider market for young commodities who offer a cheaper alternative to that of a youngster plying their trade in the lower echelons of the English game.

However, there are occasions where a rare opportunity comes along and Wigan Athletic profited from such a situation when they acquired Victor Moses on the last day of the January 2010 transfer window from Crystal Palace, after the Eagles fell into administration.

Victor Moses was born in Nigeria but fled to London after the unfortunate death of his parents after the riots in Lagos in 2001. The 12-year-old was spotted playing in the Tanbridge League by Palace’s scouts and they quickly snapped up the prodigious talent and placed him in the Eagles Academy.

A year later, after being so impressed with Moses’ attitude to the game and his academic prowess, Palace paid his fees and enrolled Moses to Whitgift School where he shone under the tutelage of former Arsenal and Chelsea defender, Colin Pates, on the football field. After working his way up the age groups at the Eagles Academy, Victor Moses would go on to make his full senior debut for Crystal Palace in November 2007; a month before he would turn 17.

In the 2007-2008 season, Victor Moses would go on to score three goals in 13 appearances in the Championship, often appearing as a substitute off the bench with minutes remaining on the clock where he used his fresh legs and pace to great effect for the Eagles. The following season, a more mature Victor Moses, would go on to make 27 league appearances scoring twice in the Championship; albeit in a variety of positions including that of a central striker and right winger.

The following season, Moses would go on a goalscoring run where he would score five goals in eight appearances for Crystal Palace which alerted Premier League clubs, including Wigan Athletic, who took advantage of Palace’s administration problems by snapping up the youngster for a mere £2.5m.

From January to May 2010, Victor Moses would make 14 appearances for Wigan Athletic where he would contribute a goal and two assists for Roberto Martinez’s relegation strugglers.

In his first full season for the Latics, Victor Moses was asked to play on the left wing, alongside Hugo Rodallega, as he made 26 appearances scoring two goals. However, it was a season later, where Martinez paired the Colombian striker with Moses, that saw the young Nigerian score six goals as he played all 38 games of the Premier League campaign. It was an impressive season and was seen as his breakthrough year as Chelsea came calling and after being rebuffed on four occasions for his signature, the fifth bid proved to be successful as Chelsea departed with £9m for Victor Moses.

Last season for Chelsea was a strange one indeed. An influx of new players had arrived and Victor Moses struggled for game time early on under the management of Roberto Di Matteo. However, as soon as Rafael Benitez took the reigns in November 2012, his reputation as a manager who liked to rotate his players was good to see Victor Moses play 43 games where he would score 10 goals and provide four assists for his team-mates; predominantly from wide positions on both the left and right. A majority of his goals would come in cup competitions with only one league goal and an assist to show for his 23 league appearances; with 11 coming off the bench.

So just what kind of a player is the young, Nigerian international?

Victor Moses began his career as a striker where he was prolific as a schoolboy and scored nine goals in 15 appearances for England Under-17s. Crystal Palace primarily used him as a sole striker and it was under Roberto Martinez at Wigan Athletic, where his game was transformed, as he was taught to play the winger role where you will find him playing today.

Predominantly right-footed, Victor Moses prefers to play from the left as do so many modern wingers today. Moses is blessed with raw pace, two quick feet and is an astute dribbler with the ball as he looks to run at the opposition at every given opportunity. His direct game means he is suited to a counter-attacking style of play where he uses his intelligent timing and positioning to run in behind the defence or at the opposition full-back. He is constantly looking for the ball and is brilliant at exposing highline defences where his pace and acceleration leaves defenders trailing in his wake.

He also likes to start as wide as possible, hugging the touchline; a trait Rafael Benitez used to great effect in the Europa League last season where Moses provide width which was otherwise non-existent with Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata who prefer to play a far narrower game.

Standing 5ft 10in, Victor Moses boasts a stocky build whose natural strength and power means he is very rarely outmuscled by the opposition. He has fantastic energy and stamina and will run all game long making lungbursting runs from the first minute to the last. Starting life as a striker, it was under Roberto Martinez where he was taught about teamwork and how he needed to defend from a wider position.

The young Spanish coach did a fine job nurturing both Victor Moses and Antonio Valencia’s enthusiasm and willingness to work – turning it into a positive where he asked both players to defend as well as attack in equal measure. Positionally, both Moses and Valencia are brilliant from a defensive standpoint and are not afraid to protect their full-backs when out of possession.

Now the flaws to Victor Moses’ game are probably most evident from his statistics. Moses is hardly prolific in front of goal and you could argue he needs to provide far more than he has done in terms of direct assists. However, this argument can be countered. In his earlier days as a striker, Moses was taught to be selfish and this carried on somewhat when he arrived at Wigan Athletic. For all his running and ability to find space and time in the attacking third, his decision making was quite awful in his first couple seasons at the DW Stadium. His passing was woeful; presented to play a simple ball to his strike partner often turned into giving the ball away and when he was presented with a goalscoring opportunity, he would often lash at the ball with little composure. By all means, Moses has certainly matured but his decision making and composure are two aspects which still need to be worked upon. However, Moses is still only 22-years-old and learning the game and it is this willingness to learn that means he has the ability to become a top class winger over time.

So what of Liverpool’s interest?

With the failed attempts to bring in Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Diego Costa and Willian, the Anfield faithful could be forgiven for feeling a little deflated when Victor Moses was seen as a possible signing. With Chelsea strengthening their attacking third with the return from loan of Kevin De Bruyne and the addition of Andre Schurrle and Willian, the short term future of Victor Moses looks far from certain. Jose Mourinho seems to value what Moses can bring to the team and was impressed with the Nigerian in pre-season. However, the fact remains the aforementioned together with Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar means Moses starts the season well down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

The general consensus is that Chelsea are willing to loan out Victor Moses for a season. However, it is uncertain what the loan deal consists of. If there is an option to buy, then Brendan Rodgers would be unwise not to consider such a deal as time is fast running out with just one week left of the transfer window and still no sign of the left-sided winger the manager so craves. However, if it is just a season loan then perhaps Rodgers needs to hold out a little longer to see who else is available this week.

Liverpool, of course, profited from another Chelsea player whose career somewhat stagnated at Stamford Bridge in Daniel Sturridge. And the same can be said of Philippe Coutinho at Inter Milan. With Victor Moses benefiting from Rafael Benitez’s constant rotation policy – a pet hate of many a Liverpool fan during his tenure at Anfield – it also had a detrimental effect upon his game where he would perform well in Europe only to be dropped for the next league game. A move to Liverpool may just well be the injection in the arm to take Victor Moses’ game up a level as he will be awarded far more minutes on the pitch than he will at Chelsea. And an in-form Victor Moses may just well be what Liverpool are looking for as they push to stake claim for a top four finish.