Victor Moses' hopes of earning a permanent move to Spartak Moscow could be in jeopardy.
The Chelsea winger joined the Russian outfit on a season-long loan deal during the summer transfer window in what is his sixth temporary spell away from the club since arriving in 2012.
But he could be heading back to Stamford Bridge at the end of the campaign if his fitness levels don't improve soon.
Spartak head coach Domenico Tedesco has pulled no punches when revealing why he is so unhappy with Moses following his side's 1-1 draw against Dinamo Moscow on Saturday.
The Nigeria international did manage to play the full 90 minutes, but Tedesco clearly wants to see improvement from the 29-year-old.
"Victor Moses is not yet at the level that I want to see him. We will need time to get the players back to the required level. This applies not only to Victor, but also to the others," Tedesco was quoted as saying by Sport Express.
"Yes, I am satisfied with [Aleksandr] Kokorin’s performance.
"We did not have the opportunity to involve [Aleksandr] Sobolev.
"Today we saw the strengths of Alexandr. But Kokorin, like Moses, did not pass the winter training camp, and we need to get them back in shape."
Moses' Chelsea contract expires in the summer of 2022, but Spartak do hold an option to buy the winger at the end of the season, as revealed by general director Shamil Gazizov.
"No, the loan cost €300,000 (£268,000) and option to buy will be €5million (£4.47million)," Gazizov told Nobel Arustamyan's Youtube channel. "If he plays a certain number of matches, and if we achieve a certain result, we have the opportunity to buy him.
"It is also possible not to buy Moses. But when Victor and I talked, his main desire was to find a club."
With that said, if Moses doesn't raise his fitness levels, it remains to be seen if Tedesco pushes for a permanent transfer.
In a scenario in which he doesn't, Chelsea and Marina Granovskaia would miss out on a £4m cash injection which could go a long way to completing Frank Lampard's squad next summer.
The Blues spent big following their transfer ban, but continue to be linked with a move for West Ham United's Declan Rice ahead of the 2021 windows.
