Chelsea Transfer Rumors: Blues Must Land Victor Moses for the Right Price

Chelsea could use another up and coming young talent, which they could find in Wigan's midfielder Victor Moses, but it needs to be for the right price.

According to Mirror Football, Chelsea offered Wigan less than £4 million for the 21-year-old midfielder, a bid that was scoffed at by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, who said, "I have not put a price tag on Victor but let's say that what Chelsea have offered is a lot less than £4m—that is absolutely stupid."

Whelan is right. An offer under £4 million should be seen as a slap in the face to the Wigan club.

Sure, Moses isn't a supreme talent in the Premier League, but he's just 21 years old. When a club looks to acquire a player like Moses, they are paying for his current level of play along with the investment for the future.

He's shown spurts of a propensity to become a future star, mostly in his dribbling skills and finishing ability, but he is still a bit raw. Most 21-year-old footballers are, though, and Moses will be able to become a formidable midfielder one day in the Premier League.

That being said, the Blues need to be careful not to overpay for him. As a measuring stick, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was signed for £12 million by Arsenal right around the time he turned 18. He was a much more highly-touted young player than Moses is right now, and was three years younger at the time he was signed.

That means Chelsea has to find the perfect middle ground between the £4 million that they offered for Moses and the £12 million that Arsenal forked over for "The Ox." Rightfully so, as Moses' skills are worth somewhere right in the middle of £4 million and £12 million.

Moses was signed by Wigan from Crystal Palace back in January 2010 for £2.5 million. Wigan is not Crystal Palace, and Chelsea is not Wigan. That indicates that the price will be hiked up with more prominent clubs involved.

Somewhere in between the £5 million and £8 million range would make the most sense. The latter may be pushing it a bit, but any amount less than that could be found under the couch cushions at Roman Abramovich's mansion.

He performed well for a poor Wigan team last season, but not at on a level that was out of this world. He scored six goals in 38 appearances, but didn't have the supporting cast that he would if he were to come to Stamford Bridge.

Moses ranked 77th in the Premier League in key passes with 1.1 per game, hardly a number that calls for anything near double digits. He completed 741 of 913 passes, good for 116th in the league.

Those stats don't scream for an inordinate sum of money, but, once again, Moses is still one of the younger players in the league and has plenty of time to improve.

All things considered, acquiring Moses would be a smart insurance move for Chelsea, but it needs to be at the right price. Overpaying for a player that hasn't fully proved his worth is a high-risk situation that doesn't always yield a high reward.