Moses faces uncertain future upon Chelsea return News

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Moses faces uncertain future upon Chelsea return

By Daily Sports on June 11, 2016

Victor Moses left West Ham United and returned to Chelsea on Tuesday after coming to the end of his loan spell with the Hammers.

His departure appeared inevitable, with the Nigerian forward not expected to have been retained by Slaven Bilic’s side.

While it’s not impossible that the East Londoners could return for Moses during the summer—perhaps on another temporary basis—the Super Eagles star must surely now begin considering his future elsewhere, having struggled to prove beyond doubt that he belongs at a club challenging for the European places.

At Liverpool he didn’t look the part and lost the faith of Brendan Rodgers, while at Stoke City he impressed in patches but was afflicted by an injury record that prevented him from picking up momentum at the Britannia Stadium.

While Moses suggested that he might be set for a renaissance following an encouraging pre-season with Chelsea and a well-struck winner against Manchester City in September in only his third outing for the Irons, he ends the campaign with just 13 league starts.

He hasn’t scored a league goal since that heady afternoon at the Etihad Stadium, and hasn’t made a decisive contribution for the Hammers since October—despite impressing in patches.

Now 25, it’s surely time for Moses to settle down and begin to establish himself at one club—although it feels as though we’ve been saying that for many seasons.

It’s not impossible that Antonio Conte will want to take a look at Moses who, after all, still has another three years on his contract at Stamford Bridge.

However, having struggled to convince with West Ham, it’s hard to imagine that Italian coach looking a little higher up the food chain as he plots the Pensioners’ rise back to the pinnacle of the English game. Considering the number of hungry youngsters, returning loanees, first-team candidates and potential transfer targets there are out there, Conte will surely feel that he can do better than Moses.

There will surely be a handful of suitors in the Premier League, and the Nigerian could do a lot worse than vying for a place in the forward line of a Southampton or an Everton, although even that pair may be looking at higher prizes considering the division’s changing complexion.

Instead, Moses may well take inspiration from two other Chelsea rejects—Juan Cuadrado and Mohamed Salah—both of whom found success by swapping the Premier League for Italy, where their direct play, dribbling ability and speed made them stand out within a division that has a reputation for being more staid than the EPL.

Neither have been given a genuine opportunity to shine at Stamford Bridge, and Cuadrado ends the year with an Italian title at Juventus, while Salah ultimately secured his move away from west London—joining AS Roma—after proving himself with Fiorentina and then the Giallorossi.

It’s poignant that only hours before Stephen Keshi passed away, one of his greatest success stories found himself unwanted again and pausing mournfully at another crossroads in his career.

Moses paid a polite tribute to his departed coach on social media and will likely have recalled their mutual triumph together.

•Culled fom goal.com. Photo shows Victor Moses

Source Daily Sports

Posted June 11, 2016