Victor Moses
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Victor Moses | |
| |
| Full Name | Victor Moses |
| Date of Birth | 12 December 1990 |
| Place of Birth | Kaduna, Nigeria |
| Position | Forward Winger |
| Chelsea career | 2012 - |
| Debut | 15 September 2012 |
| Games (goals) | 92 (15) |
| Other clubs | Crystal Palace Wigan Athletic Liverpool (loan) Stoke City (loan) West Ham United (loan) |
Victor Moses (born 12 December 1990 in Kaduna) is a Nigerian international forward who signed for Chelsea from Wigan Athletic in August 2012 for a reported fee of around £9m. [1] He can play in various forward positions, including as an advanced right-sided winger or striker.
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Before Chelsea
Early life
Born in Kaduna, Nigeria, Moses suffered tragedy early in his life when at the age of 11 his parents were murdered. His father, a Christian pastor, had been targeted amid conflict between the country's Muslim and Christian communities, and was killed in his home, along with his wife. Amid fears for the safety of the couple's young son, Moses was hidden by friends for a week before he was sent to England to seek asylum. Knowing nobody in England he was adopted by a foster family in South London. [2]
Having played football in the streets during his childhood, his potential was soon recognised when he was spotted by Crystal Palace while playing in nearby Norbury Park. In addition to joining the club's academy he was recommended to Croydon's independent, fee-paying Whitgift School, where he could enjoy top class facilities and best develop his talent. Such was his dominance at his age level he led Whitgift to the Under-14 FA Youth Cup in 2005, scoring all five in the final as they beat Grimsby school 5-0.
Crystal Palace
Moses made his debut for the Crystal Palace first team in November 2007 at the age of just 16. He went on to make 16 appearances in his debut season, scoring 3 goals. He continued to appear for the first team on a regular basis during the 2008-09 season, albeit with a return of just two goals from 32 games. During 2009-10 he began attracting attention from Premier League clubs after a run of five goals in eight games, and with Palace in financial trouble he was sold to Wigan Athletic on the final day of the 2010 January transfer window for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £2.5m. [3]
Wigan Athletic
Moses made his debut for Wigan Athletic as a substitute on 6 February 2010 in a match against Sunderland. He had made 14 appearances by the end of the season, and scored his first goal for Wigan on 3 May against Hull City. Injury and subsequent competition for a first team place checked the young forward's progress at the beginning of 2010-11, but he still made 26 appearances during the season, scoring once. With one of his principal rivals for a first team place – Charles N'Zogbia – leaving the club prior to 2011-12, Moses cemented his place in the first team and enhanced his reputation over the course of the season, contributing six goals as Wigan narrowly avoided relegation.
Still just 21, Moses' displays for Wigan attracted interest from Chelsea prior to 2012-13; the European Champions looking to bolster their attacking options with young talent, having already signed Eden Hazard and Oscar over the summer. Having had four previous bids rejected, the Blues finally secured a deal reported to be worth £9m on 24 August 2012. [4]
Chelsea career
2012-13
Having watched the 2012 UEFA Super Cup as an unused substitute, Moses made his debut in a goalless draw against Queens Park Rangers on 15 September. He scored on his full debut ten days later, scoring the sixth goal as Chelsea beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-0 in the League Cup. Goals against Swansea City and Shakhtar Donetsk followed in early November; the latter injury-time goal effectively keeping alive Chelsea's hopes of qualifying from the UEFA Champions League group stage. The win would ultimately prove futile, as Chelsea finished third in the group with a 3-0 loss to Juventus in the next match proving to be the killer blow. The defeat in Turin cost manager Roberto Di Matteo his job, and Moses' first team prospects improved following the hiring of Rafael Benítez on an interim basis, with the Spaniard evidently preferring the Nigerian's direct play to Oscar's artistry; Di Matteo having consistently favoured an attacking midfield trio of Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard. Moses generally made the most of his increased opportunities, cementing his popularity with the Chelsea fans with his impressive displays and goals in the cups against Leeds United and Southampton.
2013-14
Moses was loaned to Liverpool for the duration of the 2013-14 season. He marked his debut with a goal against Swansea but was largely used as a substitute in the first half of the season. He featured even less after Christmas as Liverpool mounted an unsuccessful title challenge and only added one more goal to his tally; a strike against Bournemouth in the FA Cup.
2014-15
On August 16th 2014 Moses was loaned to Stoke City for the 2014-15 season. He helped contribute to a very successful season for the club as they finished in the top half of the league, and he scored four goals before succumbing to a season-ending injury in March.
2015-16
Despite joining Jose Mourinho's first-team squad for their pre-season tour of the United States - and impressing - Moses was loaned to West Ham United upon the arrival of Pedro on transfer deadline day. His stay at the Boleyn Ground was much the same as his campaign at Stoke, playing a rounded role for an upstart team finishing well in the league, but never quite doing enough to become a first-team regular whilst injuries also affected him once more.
International
Having moved to England at the age of 11, Moses represented England at U16, U17, U19 and U21 levels, but chose to represent his native Nigeria at senior level. At the time he joined Chelsea he had won three caps.
Shortly after joining the Blues he was named in Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. An unused substitute for Nigeria's opening match in the tournament, he would start all subsequent matches and scored two goals in a crucial group stage match against Ethiopia, helping the Super Eagles qualify for the knock-out stages. They eventually won the tournament, beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final, earning Moses the first major honour of his career.
Statistics
| Season | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2012-13 | Chelsea | 23 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 10 |
| 2013-14 | Liverpool (loan) | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| 2014-15 | Stoke City (loan) | 19 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 |
| 2015-16 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | West Ham (loan) | 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| 2016-17 | Chelsea | 34 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 |
| 2017-18 | Chelsea | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Chelsea | 63 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 92 | 15 | |
| # | Season | Date | Year | Competition | Opponent | Score | Result | Venue |
| 1 | 2012-13 | 25 September | 2012 | League Cup | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6-0 | 6-0 | Stamford Bridge |
| 2 | 2012-13 | 03 November | 2012 | Premier League | Swansea City | 1-0 | 1-1 | Liberty Stadium |
| 3 | 2012-13 | 07 November | 2012 | UEFA Champions League | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3-2 | 3-2 | Stamford Bridge |
| 4 | 2012-13 | 19 December | 2012 | League Cup | Leeds United | 3-1 | 5-1 | Elland Road |
| 5 | 2012-13 | 05 January | 2013 | FA Cup | Southampton | 2-1 | 5-1 | St Mary's Stadium |
| 6 | 2012-13 | 27 February | 2013 | FA Cup | Middlesbrough | 2-0 | 2-0 | Riverside Stadium |
| 7 | 2012-13 | 4 April | 2013 | UEFA Europa League | Rubin Kazan | 2-0 | 3-1 | Stamford Bridge |
| 8 | 2012-13 | 11 April | 2013 | UEFA Europa League | Rubin Kazan | 2-1 | 2-3 | Luzhniki Stadium |
| 9 | 2012-13 | 25 April | 2013 | UEFA Europa League | Basel | 1-0 | 2-1 | St. Jakob-Park |
| 10 | 2012-13 | 2 May | 2013 | UEFA Europa League | Basel | 2-1 | 3-1 | Stamford Bridge |
| 11 | 2016-17 | 23 August | 2016 | League Cup | Bristol Rovers | 2-0 | 3-2 | Stamford Bridge |
| 12 | 2016-17 | 27 August | 2016 | Premier League | Burnley | 3-0 | 3-0 | Stamford Bridge |
| 13 | 2016-17 | 15 October | 2016 | Premier League | Leicester City | 3-0 | 3-0 | Stamford Bridge |
| 14 | 2016-17 | 26 November | 2016 | Premier League | Tottenham Hotspur | 2-1 | 2-1 | Stamford Bridge |
| 15 | 2017-18 | 6 August | 2017 | FA Community Shield | Arsenal | 1-0 | 1-1 | Wembley Stadium |
Career honours
Club
- Chelsea
International
- Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2013
