Zappacosta joined from Torino for £23 million as a cover for the Nigerian international but rather than feel threatened by the Italian’s arrival, Moses still feels a debt of gratitude to manager Antonio Conte who made him a regular in the senior side last season.
“I am ready for the competition,” Moses told Evening Standard. “We needed more players, to be honest. We have a lot of games to play this season. You can’t expect to play 60 games or so. I’m ready to take on anyone that is coming here. I just want to play my football.
“My game has changed and it’s all down to the manager. He gave me the confidence to play in the position.
“I’m enjoying my football and I just want to say thanks to him, really. It is always good for a player when a manager believes in you.
“It gives you the belief to go out on the pitch and express yourself. I just want to pay him back and do my best to help the team.
“I feel like I belong. After last season, I feel a lot more comfortable now. I’m home, I’m playing for my club now.”
Moses also recounted his sending off in the English FA Cup Final which Chelsea lost 2-1 to Arsenal, stating that he has learnt from the mistake.
He said: “That’s football. We won the League and then played the FA Cup Final. Getting sent off? Things like that happen.You just have to get away from it for a while. I have moved on from that now and I’m concentrating on this season. What happened last season is in the past. I forget about the past and have moved on to the future.
“I have definitely learned from it. In football you have to learn from everything, but everyone makes mistakes. I’m not the only one that has made a mistake.”
Moses who is expected to make his third EPL start away at Leicester on Saturday added that he is looking forward to the fixture.
“It’s a different test but we are looking forward to it,” the Super Eagles star said.
“We missed out on the Champions League last season but we are back in it now. We have a strong team and will keep doing the best we can in all the competitions.
“We are happy with the way the season has started, especially after what happened in the first game, when we had two players sent off. Apart from that, everything else is fine.
“We are enjoying our football. We beat Spurs and Everton and that has been massive for us.”