This summer transfer window promised so much but delivered so little. The general consensus among fans regarding Chelsea’s two Nigerian’s was that John Obi Mikel would be sold and so would Victor Moses.
Let’s start with John Obi Mikel, it always baffles me as to how he’s managed to rack up 339 appearances for Chelsea, yet has never been the main man in Chelsea’s midfield. He’s always been in the shadows of the likes of Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, Michael Essien and most recently Nemanja Matic. It’s unusual for a player to spend almost his entire career at a club where he’s valued mostly just to shut games out. Games where quality is needed, Mikel isn’t chosen, games where the bus is needed, Mikel is the first name on the team sheet.
Last season was his worst to date in a Chelsea shirt, the first time he’s played less than 35 times in all competitions, 26 being the total amount of appearances. The Nigerian was always Mourinho’s go to man when Chelsea needed to hold onto a lead or when he wanted to inject some power into his midfield. However, last season, particularly in the latter stages, that role was filled by Kurt Zouma. Now, if I was Mikel, I’d be livid. Your primary position is defensive midfield and yet you’re being out of favour as the manager would rather play a defender out of position? Surely this points to a lack of trust in the Nigerian.
So, with all of this taken into account, it was assumed that Mikel would want first team football and ask to leave, he would be offloaded and Chelsea would sign someone to replace him. The former is reported to be true, however, it didn’t happen, as Jose Mourinho apparently blocked a move that would see Mikel call time on his 10-year stay at the English champions.
With this, you’d assume Mikel would have been assured of more opportunities in the first team, why else would he stay? Still though, the current trend isn’t going to boost him with much confidence as he’s yet to start for the Blues this season, It’s only a matter of time before he says enough is enough and leaves Chelsea, which to me, is a win-win situation.
Victor Moses’ journey is the polar opposite, the man has drive and determination to improve, he is unwilling to sit on a bench and collect a paycheck, he’s always itching to get first-team football. Brought by Chelsea in 2012, he’s appeared 44 times for them, although more interestingly, has appeared more times (45) on loan in spells at Liverpool and Stoke City combined.
It was expected that Moses would return to Chelsea this season and either head out on loan again or be sold on. After an impressive season at Stoke, there was even talk of the Blues turning a profit from their £8m investment in the winger. It has to be said, he’s more than a capable squad player for Chelsea, a very decent rotation option, however probably not of high enough quality to be the first choice.
Moses returned to Chelsea and is assumed to be picked in favour of Charley Musonda on the blues pre-season tour in the July just gone. This was a surprise to some as fans including myself didn’t believe Moses had a future in Chelsea colours. Yet to our surprise, Moses was possibly Chelsea’s best player during pre-season and looked to have really improved as a player since he last turned out for the London side. This caused massive debate on whether Moses would become a Chelsea regular in the forthcoming season or whether he would be sold on for profit.
It was reported that The Nigerian winger had plenty of suitors if Chelsea were willing to sell yet a move didn’t materialise. Nevertheless, instead he went to West Ham on a loan for the season, where I personally predict he will sparkle and be sold next summer for between £12m and £16m. An extremely capable player on his day, however, his day I don’t believe will be in Chelsea Blue, unfortunately.
