Why Victor Moses should be a huge worry for Super Eagles ahead of 2018 World Cup

In the dressing room, Conte tweaked his team, a change that altered the course of the 2016/2017 Premier League season.

Conte took out Cesc Fabregas and replaced him with Marcus Alonso, switching to his favourite three-man defence set-up.

In the next game, a 2-0 away win at Hull City, Conte gave Victor Moses a rare start, playing the Nigerian in a very unfamiliar right wing-back role.

Premier League title with a price

With Moses as a wingback, Chelsea went on a record-equalling 13 consecutive league wins that saw them top of the table in December 2016.

Moses went on the make 22 consecutive Premier League starts from September 2016 to April 2017. 28 league starts and 33 league appearances in total to help Chelsea win the league.

Indeed, it was a delight for Nigerians to see a Super Eagles star playing a very crucial role in a title-winning team.

But that Premier League title has come with a price, not just for Moses but for all Nigerians.

When he first burst onto the scene with Wigan where he made his Premier League debut in 2010, Moses was a delight to watch.

With insane pace and nimble feet, he was a menace to fullbacks and it wasn’t a shock when Chelsea came calling.

He struggled for first-team action and went on loan three different times before Conte gave him a chance.

Conte gave him the place in Chelsea’s XI, using his energy and stamina to devastating effect, but the flair with which he had played before was stifled.

Credit to Moses however, he has always managed to switch back to his former self for the Super Eagles where he has a freer role in attack.

He was Super Eagles best player during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, where he managed three goals in four games.

The Man of the Man performances in the 3-1 win over Algeria in November 2016 and in the 4-0 win over Cameroon in August 2017 easily come to mind.

But ahead of the World Cup, Moses is a huge worry for the Super Eagles.

He has had a very inconsistent season with Chelsea and the verve with which harried the right win for Chelsea last season has disappeared.

In attack, Moses seems to be very imaginative and lost while he has struggled to hold it together in defence.

With the 2018 World Cup drawing closer by the day, Moses’ Premier League title win of 2017 is becoming a distant memory to Nigerians who are waiting with  bated breath for the Super Eagles to take on the world.

The Super Eagles need an in form and confident Moses at the World Cup and that is why Gernot Rohr should be looking at his uninspiring season at Chelsea with uneasy eyes.