Tottenham missed out on signing Moses for free

Nigeria international Victor Moses was being watched by both Tottenham and Chelsea scouts before he joined Crystal Palace's academy on the advice of his former coach - back in 2004.


Now 25 years old, Moses has made his breakthrough season at Stamford Bridge under new boss Antonio Conte, who has won five of his last league games in charge of the club while utilising the Nigeria international in a wing-back role.

Former Arsenal trainee, Tony Loizi, managed Moses at amateur club Cosmos 90 FC and helped to introduce his former player to the English academy system at Crystal Palace. Loizi remembers that Palace had competiton from other London clubs, including both Spurs and Chelsea.

"So many clubs were after him and then Crystal Palace came in," Loizi said. "Tottenham in particular were looking at him for a long time, but I’m glad that he chose Palace. If he went to Chelsea or Tottenham, he might not have made it."

"I said to him: ‘look, Victor, there’s no way I would hold you back' and I asked him to come to Crystal Palace with me. I went down there after the two-week trial and they were signing the schoolboy contracts.

"Chelsea were also in for him and I said: 'if you sign for Palace you will get to the first team quicker than at any of the other clubs', and in the end he chose to stay with them after his trial."

Moses made his Palace debut at the age of 16 in 2007, less than three years after signing his first contract with the club.