No Chelsea feud over Victor Moses, insists Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers has played down reports of an ongoing feud with Chelsea over Liverpool’s sparing use of Victor Moses this season.

The Nigeria international was hauled off at half-time during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over League One side Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup third-round at Anfield on Sunday.

Eddie [Newton] goes out and assesses the loan players. I saw Eddie on Saturday before the game

Brendan Rodgers

It was a new low for Moses in what has been a difficult loan spell at Liverpool after the Chelsea forward moved to Anfield on the final day of the summer transfer window.

The Blues were reported to be furious over his treatment following the cup tie, with Chelsea believed to have been keen for Moses to opt for a different destination in September – Southampton and West Bromwich Albion were linked with the 23-year-old.

Rodgers worked for Chelsea between 2006 and 2008, and the Reds boss revealed that he spoke to Eddie Newton, who is the technical coach for the youth development programme at the west London side, ahead of the cup clash and there were no issues.

“I was surprised to see that report considering that I’ve had regular dialogue with Chelsea,” Rodgers told a media conference ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Stoke on Sunday.

“Eddie [Newton] goes out and assesses the loan players. I saw Eddie on Saturday before the game.

“We speak openly about his [Moses’] development.”

He added: “In fairness to Victor, he was taken off, but his reaction has been outstanding.

“We’ve spoken about demands and expectations at a big club like Liverpool. His talent hasn’t gone away.

“He’s very happy here. Of course every player wants to play more but he’s learning the demands of being at a big cub.

“There’s no doubt over the course of his time here that he’ll show the quality that he has… that’s what it’s about.”

Moses has scored once in 13 Premier League appearances – seven of those from the bench -this season.