Moses off to Chelsea at last

Chelsea will take their
summer spending to a
staggering £73million
after Wigan agreed a
£9m deal for winger
Victor Moses with them on Thursday night. The clubs are finalising details of the move after weeks of
negotiations for the
former England Under
21 forward. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan named his price for Moses two weeks ago and, having turned down four offers, will
reluctantly sell him to
the European champions. The delay had been down to wrangling over the payment structure as Wigan wanted the majority of the fee paid
up front. They have got
their way, with £7m
being paid immediately
and £2m more
guaranteed at the end
of the season.
Moses has been on
Chelsea’s radar since his sparkling form at the end of last season
helped keep Roberto
Martinez’s team in the
Barclays Premier League.
Moses was outstanding
for Wigan during their
2-0 defeat by Roberto
Di Matteo’s side at the
DW Stadium in last
weekend’s Premier
League opener. That performance convinced Di Matteo, as well as Chelsea technical director Michael Emanalo and owner Roman
Abramovich, to meet
Wigan’s asking price.
Moses, 21, has spent
two seasons at the DW
Stadium after being sold by Championship
side Crystal Palace for
£2.5m.
He spent his early years
playing for England’s
youth teams but has
switched and now
represents his native
Nigeria. Martinez admitted he was not involved in the negotiations to sell
Moses and that Whelan
had handled the talks
with Chelsea. The FA Cup and Champions League winners will be relieved the deal has been done before the transfer deadline of 11pm next Friday.
The deal adds to Abramovich’s spending
on Eden Hazard and
Oscar.