There is only one word that describes Victor Moses’ Chelsea career: roller coaster.
Signed by Wigan Athletic in 2012 for a fee of around £ 9 million, Moses was in and out of Chelsea’s first team, jumping between winning titles and fighting for his top flight on loan.
During his nine seasons on the books at Chelsea, Moses actually spent only four and a half at Stamford Bridge, but in every full campaign he spent with the first team, he managed to win a trophy and believe it or not, he was actually an important part of some few of them.
Moses proved exactly why Chelsea signed him in 2012/13, when he scored four goals in six games on his way to winning the Europa League. That season was an incessant disaster for Chelsea, but because of Moses it ended up okay.
Apparently a young player with a lot of raw potential, Chelsea did with Moses what they do with all their promising youngsters and threw him into the loan army.
Moses shone in the Europa League / Clive Rose / Getty Images
Over the next three years, spells with Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham yielded mixed results but did enough to convince Chelsea that there was a real player in them somewhere. He gained three seasons of Premier League experience and reported for training during the 2016 season ready to take over.
Antonio Conte saw something in Moses, whose physicality and perseverance meant that he offered something else for the rest of Chelsea’s wing play. He got the chance to prove himself as a right-back, and after three years of waiting patiently for his chance, Moses would never give it up.
Moses was absolutely perfect for the role. The Premier League simply could not figure out how to handle him, and after 34 games, three goals and three assists, Moses had his hands on a Premier League title that probably would not have been possible without him.
128 matches, 18 goals and an FA Cup, Europa League and Premier League winners with Chels. ?
All the best for the future, @VictorMoses. ? pic.twitter.com/c5dpLE0buY
– Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 2, 2021
The FA Cup success followed in 2017/18, where Moses once again played an important role, but things went downhill very quickly when Conte got his marching orders that summer.
Maurizio Sarris’ preference for a four-man defense meant that Moses had to be either a right-back or a right-winger, and he was not considered good enough for either of them, so he returned to the loan army.
The positive results of the system were quickly shown as a solid six-month period with Fenerbahce gave Moses a temporary reunion with Conte at Inter, who refused to sign him permanently at the end of the season.
Eventually he found the home he deserved with Spartak Moscow, who quickly fell in love with his performances as a wing back. A quick browse through their Twitter feed yields countless posts shouting that he is the best in the world – the kind of praise he felt he would never see again after leaving Chelsea.
? ABSOLUTE ROCKET FROM SIR VICTOR MOSES pic.twitter.com/bUXTyBSp9b
– FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_eng) 16 May 2021
It’s the perfect ending to one of the most dramatic stories of loan armies in Chelsea’s modern history. Moses enjoyed the highs and lows of being permanently cultivated by the Blues, sitting on top of the world and struggling to find his footing in the game for a period of a few years.
After spending more time on loan than at Chelsea, there’s a chance that Moses’ spell at Stamford Bridge is not so fondly remembered, but he played his part in some of the club’s best moments in the last ten years.
Moses was a key player for Chelsea / Dan Istitene / Getty Images
2012/13 success in the Europa League. Revived himself as a backback and won the Premier League title in 2016/17. Watching Jose Mourinho in the FA Cup final 2018. Not only was Moses there for them all, but he was a driving force.
Still only 30 years old, there is still time for Moses’ career to offer one or two more twists, but at the moment he is enjoying a well-deserved success with Spartak.
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