TheSportsCampus

Chelsea's pursuit of Victor Moses continues to perplex as reports from ESPN today declared that Chelsea have edged closer to nabbing the 21-year old Nigerian, but did still fall short of Wigan's expectation which if calculations serve us correctly was their fourth offer.

It appears that Chelsea's haggling may have yet done the trick though with Dave Whelan reportedly having backed down from his £10 million asking price for the youngster, and is now reportedly willing to settle for £8.5 million.

Despite the progress Chelsea have made for the Wigan winger in their continuous offers for Moses, one can't help but wonder if they might have just been better served to pay up the £10 million three weeks ago and had the player in their squad for pre-season so that he could get accustomed to the style of play and gel with his new teammates.

After all, Chelsea have not been money shy this summer, and have reportedly already spent over £60 million, so why bother haggling for a million here or there.

That being said, the lack of urgency being shown by the Blues is ample indication that Moses is not a priority signing for them, and they are perhaps looking at increasing the number of English trained players in their squad rather than actually chasing him as someone who will break into their first team right away.

Wigan themselves have been shy of using the former Crystal Palace striker in a central role, and it remains to be seen how Roberto di Matteo looks to employ a player who will no doubt be third or fourth choice in a wing role especially while playing at home.

Either way, reports indicate that Chelsea could wrap up the signing in time for their Community Shield clash with Manchester City this weekend, but it would be extremely unlikely that they will slot him into the 18-man squad for that game.