Luton Town will hope they have Ross Barkley 2.0 on their hands

Luton Town completed the shock transfer of ex-Chelsea star Victor Moses on Tuesday morning – and it certainly represents a gamble for the Championship promotion hopefuls.

In contrast to Burnley and Sheffield United, the Hatters have endured a series of initial trials and tribulations back in the Championship despite appearing to be in the best health of all three relegated sides only a few months prior.

At the time of writing, Luton find themselves situated in 23rd position after four outings, none of which have returned three points. Indeed, they are one of just four teams yet to win any of their opening matches and have scored on merely two occasions, ringing early alarm bells at Kenilworth Road.

Barring the arrival of Mark McGuiness from Championship rivals Cardiff City – the only team below them in the division, for what it’s worth – in a deal which could reportedly rise to £10m, Luton’s summer transfer window was largely quiet and outgoings were limited too, with the most notable departures represented in Ross Barkley and Chiedozie Ogbene to Aston Villa and Ipswich Town respectively.

However, Rob Edwards’ side have decided to exploit the free agent market by striking a shock deal for Victor Moses, who counts the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Inter Milan among his former clubs.

Luton Town sign ex-Chelsea star Victor Moses on free transfer

The Hatters’ latest deal came largely out of the blue, with no prior suggestion of the move. It has since emerged that Moses turned out for Luton in a recent behind-closed-doors friendly fixture ahead of signing for the club on a free transfer following his departure from Russian side Spartak Moscow earlier in the summer.

Moses himself spoke of being captivated by Luton’s vision and intent amid continental offers, while Edwards cited the player’s commitment, pedigree and quality as key reasons behind their decision to pull off the surprising capture when speaking to the club’s official website.

As of yet, Moses’ contract length in Hertfordshire remains unclear.

It is likely that the 33-year-old utility player will provide a direct replacement for the aforementioned Ogbene, given his existing familiarity with operating in a right-sided wing-back role after doing so with great aplomb at Chelsea.

Luton Town’s shock Victor Moses transfer gamble could be Ross Barkley 2.0

Championship supporters routinely urge their clubs to consider free agent swoops following the conclusion of transfer windows – sometimes more as an act of desperation than anything else – but nobody could have predicted this one.

Moses possesses an outstanding footballing CV, which has accumulated close to 550 appearances across spells with Crystal Palace, Wigan Athletic, Chelsea, Liverpool, Stoke City, West Ham United, Fenerbache, Inter and, most recently, Russia’s capital club.

A two-time UEFA Europa League champion, Moses has also earned 38 caps for Nigeria and lifted both the Premier League and the FA Cup during his eight-year career at Stamford Bridge.

Though large parts of his stay with Chelsea were spent out on loan, Moses was a revelation in Antonio Conte’s fluid wing-back system during the 2016/17 campaign, when they finished as top-flight champions.

Dynamic, energetic and versatile, Moses has exhibited proven quality and experience far above the level of the Championship, which certainly provides this deal with the potential to go down as a real coup. The very same was true of Barkley, who had been widely deemed as past his best by the time he signed for Luton last summer.

Another former Chelsea player, Barkley had lost his way after trading Everton for West London in the summer of 2017, with difficult spells at Villa and Nice following on from his disappointment with the Blues.

But the 33-cap England international personified coolness, class and X-Factor in the middle of the park for Luton, scoring five goals, making a further four and emerging among the top-performing central midfielders across the entire Premier League last term.

Barkley struck against Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester City for the Hatters, proving he still has the ability to mix it with the very best. Indeed, that is exactly what earned him a return to Unai Emery’s 2024/25 UEFA Champions League contestants and he has gone down as one of the most gifted players to turn out in a Luton shirt despite spending just one season with the club.

Edwards, then, will hope that Moses can replicate the way in which Barkley rolled back the years and reminded the footballing world of his quality.

There are many parallels between the two deals and many clubs were likely left wondering why they did not plot moves for Barkley just over twelve months ago – it could well be the same case with Moses, should he have a similar impact.

Of course, though, there are caveats, as is invariably the case when recruiting free agent signings.

Moses played sparingly across his final two years in Moscow before leaving the club this summer and although Edwards has assured supporters that his new signing is fit and ready, time will be required to physically readjust and acclimatise with the system and the toiling, high-intensity nature of the Championship.

 

It perhaps goes without saying in this instance, but you could also reasonably imagine that Moses will not be coming cheap to the Hatters in consideration of his domestic and continental pedigree and the type of salary he would have been taking home at Chelsea.

Player wages are not always readily and accurately available within the public domain, but Moses is almost definitely not playing in the Championship for a pittance. Nonetheless, his tried-and-tested quality makes the deal worth the risk just as it did for Barkley, where Luton were richly vindicated.

He knows what it takes to succeed in the game’s highest echelons – let alone the second-tier of English football, his experience will be beneficial around the squad and his profile aligns with Edwards’ wing-back-orientated system, in which the veteran will be expected to supplement further invention and athleticism.

It will undoubtedly be intriguing to see how the deal goes down, and Moses could quite well be a terrifically-shrewd pick-up if Luton can come remotely close to rekindling his former levels.

 

 

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