Chelsea winger Victor Moses has started 18 times for the Blues in all competitions so far this season. If you had told a Chelsea fan that would happen at the start of the campaign, no one would have believed you. But it is a testament to both Antonio Conte’s ability as a manager and to some extent Moses own persistence that the Nigerian international has managed to turn things around.

Ever since Moses arrived from Wigan Athletic in 2012, he has never quite fitted in. Different managers have come and gone during that time, but most either used him sparingly as a substitute or sent him out on loan.

His loan spells haven’t led to a clamour among Blues fans for him to return to Stamford Bridge to play first team football either. He struggled at Liverpool, but played a more prominent role during his spell at Stoke City.

There were also certainly more promising signs at West Ham last season as the Hammers performed above expectations. He started 16 times, scored twice and created two others, but on his return to the club last summer it didn’t seem likely that his Chelsea career would ever take off.

Luck certainly has played a role in Moses resurrection in a Chelsea shirt. Conte was struggling to make a back four work earlier in the season, and the last straw came after the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates in late September.
Branislav Ivanovic toiled in that match, and the Serbian has not started a league game since then with his poor performances having seemingly led to a terminal decline in his game over the last 18 months. Still, it wasn’t inevitable that Moses would be chosen as a wing back.

At Juventus, Conte preferred a right back in Stephan Lichsteiner to play in the wing back role, and it could well have been the case that the Italian could have opted for Cesar Azpilicueta instead. David Luiz could have switched to the right centre back position in order for John Terry to be put in a central position, but injury made that impossible.

Azpilicueta was instead brought in to the three man defence for the Hull game while Moses was given his chance to make the wing back position his own, leaving Terry to ponder his future on the bench on his return from injury.

With Moses thriving in the team then it gives extra hope for the army of players that Chelsea have on loan. Players like Bertrand Traore (currently on loan at Ajax), Andreas Christensen (at Borussia Monchengladbach), and even those like Nathaniel Chalobah who have returned from loan spells to still remain at Chelsea.

The thing is with Conte, he is not somebody who looks at reputations first. If he sees a need for a particular type of player in the team, he will look for the player with the best attributes in his squad. Unlike some managers, he seems willing to give chances, and in Moses case a third or fourth chance, to show application and do a job for the team.

The Italian is a winner first and foremost. His relentless desire for perfection means he has sleepless nights after defeats, and works long hours to try and rectify mistakes. If a player such as Moses can make the step up by showing he is willing to listen and learn, he will reward them, especially because he knows if they listen, he will be able to mould a team that can be incredibly hard to beat with a work ethic to match.

With the team trumping reputations in Conte’s mind, every loan player who returns to Chelsea should make the most of their training time under the Italian as you never know, they could become the next Moses.