Rumors earlier this week had Inter Milan and former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte looking to take up their €10m buy-option on loanee Victor Moses. Now, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport are now reporting that Inter intends to either push that price down or simply loan the winger for another year. Their reluctance stems as much from financial considerations as from the pure fact that Moses hasn’t had much of a chance to play since joining in January.
While Chelsea will be certainly cognizant that either way we won’t be receiving huge amounts of money for Moses, the biggest problem in this scenario could be FIFA’s impending rule changes regarding the loan system. Next season, Chelsea will only be able to loan out eight players aged 22 or older. In 2022, this number will decrease even further and only six loanees will be allowed in that age bracket.
We’ve been gradually preparing for this scenario already and will need to continue to shed numbers in the Loan Army. The likes of Victor Moses and other older loanees are no longer needed, especially as Chelsea turn to youth and finally take advantage of all of our own homegrown talent.
It seems that Inter will try to take full advantage of this situation, so it’s up to director Marina Granovskaia to not allow them to push the price down too far. Given our frosty relationship with Antonio Conte, we’re probably not looking to do them many favors, though at the same time, we’re unlikely to put too many obstacles in Moses’s way, given his years of service to the club and willingness to play these loan games.
Plenty of time left to negotiate before football resumes however, so no need to rush into anything.