KEY POINTS

  • Nigerian has become a key player for the Italian boss, playing as a wing-back in his new 3-4-3 formation.
  • Manchester United boss sent him on loan to Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham during his time at West London.

Chelsea star Victor Moses has thanked Antonio Conte for the chance to resurrect his career at Stamford Bridge, having been previously shunned by Jose Mourinho. The wing-back has the chance to show his ex boss what he was missing when Manchester United visit West London on Sunday.

Moses, 25, moved to Chelsea in the summer of 2012 following an impressive campaign with Wigan Athletic. Then playing as a standard winger, he made an instant impact at Stamford Bridge, scoring 10 goals in 44 appearances under Roberto Di Matteo and interim manager Rafa Benitez.

However, his career at Chelsea ground to a halt following the return of Mourinho in 2013. The "Special One" made it clear from the start he had no room for the Nigerian, and loaned him out in subsequent campaigns to Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham United.

Many assumed Moses' long-term future at Chelsea was over. However, Conte convinced the Nigerian to stay, and that decision has paid out in spades.

"The manager came to me and said, 'I feel that you're working hard, I really enjoy watching you play and I don't want you to go out on loan'," Moses revealed during an interview with ESPN. "When he said that to me I was really pleased. To be honest, I just want to go out there, enjoy my football and work hard for him. He's played the game before, he understands it and he understands how players feel."

Moses has repaid Conte's confidence by becoming the star for Chelsea since switching to a 3-4-3 formation. In his role as a right wing-back, he was arguably man of the match in the 2-0 victory over Hull City, before scoring his third of the season in the comprehensive defeat of Leicester City.

Conte is expected to keep him in the line-up for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday and Moses is not lacking in motivation to continue his good run. When queried, he didn't hide his frustration on how Mourinho treated him during their time together at Stamford Bridge.

"He never spoke to me," Moses told when asked whether the current United boss ever explained the decision to send him on loan three times. "I thought in my head, 'He's got his own players already'.

"I think we chatted a couple of times on the phone – he asked if I was alright at Liverpool [where Moses spent the 2013-14 season on loan], but that was it."