Chelsea’s Victor Moses goes on loan to Stoke City

Nigerian Victor Moses is on his way to Stoke City. AFP

STOKE CITY

Stoke have signed Victor Moses on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

The Potters announced a deal for the 23-year-old forward had been completed on their official Twitter account.

Moses has struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge since moving from Wigan in 2012 and spent last season on loan at Liverpool.

The signing of Moses further adds to boss Mark Hughes’ attacking options, coming after the headline acquisition of Bojan Krkic from Barcelona.

He is Hughes’ sixth signing of the summer, but will not be available for Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium.

City chief executive Tony Scholes said on the club website: “We are delighted to have secured the services of such an exciting young talent in Victor.

“He will certainly add to our attacking options and from talking to him it’s obvious that he’s really excited about the prospect of making an impact in the Premier League with Stoke City.”

The Nigeria international will be looking to revitalise his career which has stalled as he struggled for playing time at Chelsea and Liverpool.

He made only six league starts at Anfield last season and 12 with the Blues the season before.

LIVERPOOL

Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers has made Sevilla left-back Alberto Moreno his eighth signing of the summer.

Moreno completed formalities at the club’s Melwood training ground on Saturday although he was not registered in time to figure in his new side’s Premier League opener against Southampton.

Moreno has been an Anfield target for some time and was pulled from Sevilla’s Uefa Super Cup clash with Real Madrid in Cardiff last week when the extent of Rodgers’ interest became apparent.

The 22-year-old Moreno, who came through the youth ranks at Sevilla, was in tears as he waved farewell to the club’s fans on the pitch at the Cardiff City Stadium at the final whistle.

Moreno told Liverpoolfc.com: “In my view, Liverpool are the best club in England and I couldn’t waste an opportunity to come and play for them.

“I spoke with Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina and Alvaro Arbeloa and they told me this is a spectacular club, whose fans follow it in a very special way.

“They all told me I can grow a lot here as a footballer as this is a massive club. I’m very happy to be joining a club as big as Liverpool. I hope to give my best and do all I can to help.”

Moreno has enjoyed a swift rise through the ranks after only making his debut in the Sevilla first team in April 2012.

He earned his first international cap for Spain last October and narrowly missed out on a place in Vicente Del Bosque’s ill-fated World Cup squad in Brazil.

Southampton trio Ricky Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren are among the other new boys Rodgers hopes will play an integral part in repeating last season’s Premier League title push.

MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has warned Newcastle that the champions intend to hit the ground running this season.

In both their Premier League title successes of 2012 and 2014 City needed to wait until the final day of the campaign to secure the crown.

Last year their away form in the early part of the season proved problematic as they lost four of their first six games on the road.

Pellegrini put that down to the players’ lack of familiarity with his attacking philosophy but he is confident of avoiding a repeat as the title defence begins at St James’ Park on Sunday.

The Chilean said: “We must improve the first part of the season last year - it was very bad, especially playing away. I hope it will not be so bad.

“We had so many good things last year but that maybe is one of them we will not repeat.

“We were starting the season with a new style of playing. Maybe people didn’t believe we could continue playing that same way but one of the most important things when we won the title was that we continued playing that way.

“This year we know how to do it and we have new players that must understand the way we want to play.”

CHELSEA

Jose Mourinho insists he remains unfazed by the pressure to avoid a third season without silverware as Chelsea prepare to launch their Barclays Premier League title bid.

Mourinho left Real Madrid in the summer of 2013, returning for a second managerial stint at Stamford Bridge.

The decorated Portuguese boss was unable to guide the Blues to a trophy in his first campaign back at the helm - but believes shrewd summer transfer business can now end his barren run.

Chelsea open their league account at promoted Burnley on Monday night, with Mourinho claiming he is a glutton for punishment for shouldering high-pressure managerial assignments.

“I’m not a very intelligent guy in choosing my teams, because I like to work, I like to build, I don’t like easy jobs,” said Mourinho.

“I don’t like to get clubs worked by other managers before me.

“I don’t like to arrive on time to collect the fruit of their trees.

“When I went to Porto, the season before that they were fifth.

“Remember what Madrid was when I went there, and what Inter was when I went to Inter.

“And when I came back to Chelsea, I came in a moment where one team was over and another one needed to come.

“And at the same time I came to a league which is the only league where six teams are competing for the title.

“So I’m not good in choosing my jobs - or I’m good because I choose what I really love.

“So this is my second year of a project, and I’m so happy with that.”

BAYERN MUNICH

Bayern Munich are to scour the market for a new defender following the injury to Javi Martinez in the German Supercup.

The Spaniard tore his anterior cruciate ligament after clashing with Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Schmelzer in the game won 2-0 by the Westphalians.

Bayern had previously said they would be signing no more players this summer, but with Martinez ruled out for six months, they have reassessed that.

“We can all see that we now have to do something,” said the club’s technical director Michael Reschke to Sport1. “We’re going to make some considerations.”

Martinez had cemented his place in the Bayern team last season and was expected to play at the heart of the defence this season having been used in a defensive midfield role last season.

His loss is therefore a major blow to the back-to-back double winners.

“There has only been one sad moment since I joined Bayern and that was Javi’s injury,” added Reschke.

“We knew right away in the stands that something bad had happened. It’s more than just sympathy for him, we’re all completely numbed.

“Javier is a great lad and it’s really sad what has happened.”