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| Moses amd Mikel |
Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel has been speaking on why his compatriot and teammate at Chelsea Victor Moses has become one of the most prized assets at Chelsea this season.
Moses’ career at Chelsea used to be no laughing matter, but opponents don’t seem able to stop him from having fun in a blue shirt now.
Crystal Palace, where the Nigeria international was given his professional debut at the age of 16 in 2007, will be the next to try today.
Yet like Chelsea in the Premier League, Moses has built a momentum that the Eagles will find hard to halt.
It has been some turnaround. Bought from Wigan for £9m in 2012, Moses made his first league start for Chelsea at Hull just two months ago – ending a wait of 1239 days. The 25-year-old’s struggle for first team football and season-long loans to Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham over the previous three years, has been well documented.
Chelsea’s lack of faith in his abilities, particularly under former manager Jose Mourinho, had an impact on his personality too. But now he is a first team regular, a key component in Chelsea’s 10-game winning streak, and Moses is enjoying making himself heard.
As Mikel i told Standard Sport: “This is the happiest I have seen Victor at the club. You can really notice the change in him at the training ground.
“Whereas in previous years, he could be a bit quiet, now he he is making more jokes and laughing with everyone.
“He has been on loan a lot over the years and I told him to ‘be a man, stay and fight for your place’.
“But he had his own agenda and went on loan instead. I respected that. But this year you could tell he was fed up of going on loan and wanted to compete for a spot.”
Naturally, the arrival of coach Antonio Conte in the summer, has been key to his change in fortunes.
The Italian’s decision to switch Moses to right wing back in a 3-4-3 formation took everyone in the league, let alone at Stamford Bridge, by surprise, yet it has paid off remarkably
However, Moses may have suffered more frustration this term if Conte had been able to keep Juan Cuadrado in the capital as planned.
The Colombia international was his first choice for the role, but made it clear he wanted to return to Juventus, where he was on loan last season.
“It was a key moment when Cuadrado went back to Juventus – Victor knew that as well,” Mikel added.
“There was a chance Cuadrado would have had the right wing-back role instead, but he wanted to leave Chelsea.
“The situation with Cuadrado made it easier for Victor, but he had already impressed in pre-season by that stage.”
Seeing Moses dribble past defenders and cause a constant threat to goal will come as no surprise to Crystal Palace supporters.
He was a product of the much respected Academy at Selhurst Park, going on to make 69 appearances for the senior side, most of them as a teenager.
The fact Moses was making an impression in the renowned physicality of the Championship, showed there was an inner strength to go along with the ability.
Palace’s dire financial position at the time – they went into administration in 2010 – meant he was sold to Wigan for a mere £2.5m.
Now with Barcelona reportedly casting admiring glances, he is probably worth at least 10 times that.
And as far as Mikel is concerned, Conte deserves as much as the credit for the transformation as the player himself.
Mikel concluded: “Victor is fitter and sharper than he has ever been before, but I think a key thing is playing for a manager that has belief in him at Chelsea for the first time.
“That in turn has given Victor more confidence to express himself on the pitch and look to make the difference.”
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