No one should question the transfer fee Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo anymore.
Caicedo’s importance to Chelsea was one of the main themes of Enzo Maresca’s press conference following their 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday. When you score the kind of goal Caicedo did — a first-time volley with his right foot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner — then you will always be the topic of conversation.
The Ecuador international midfielder was not bought by Chelsea from Brighton for a Premier League record £115million ($148.8m at the current exchange rate) in August 2023 for his ability to find the net, although seeing this strike was worth the cost of a match ticket just as his ‘David Beckham lob’ against Bournemouth was in May. No, Chelsea’s main motivation in luring Caicedo to Stamford Bridge is for him to be a stalwart in front of the defence for the next decade.
No one will deny the amount of money to acquire him was extraordinary. An unconvincing start to Caicedo’s Chelsea career, including giving the ball away during the build-up to Nottingham Forest’s winner at Stamford Bridge 14 months ago, made the task of winning the critics and the football fraternity over even harder. The deteriorating form and fitness of midfield partner Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea’s previous record purchase (at £106m) from seven months earlier, did not help his cause either.
Inevitably Caicedo has been compared unfavourably to another midfielder who broke the £100million barrier in the same transfer window as his high-profile move. Declan Rice’s impact on Arsenal following his switch from West Ham (£100m plus £5million in add-ons) was more immediate and visible. His performances helped Chelsea’s London rivals run Manchester City very close in the title race last season and rightly earned a lot of praise for it. Put it this way, even though he did not have a medal to show for his efforts in 2023-24, you did not hear many questioning whether he was a good acquisition after a few months in an Arsenal shirt and you still don’t.
Caicedo celebrating his goal at Old Trafford (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
But just because Chelsea have not challenged for the Premier League yet (they finished sixth in May) and look unlikely to do so again this time around, it does not mean Caicedo should not now get the same respect Rice has earned.
Caicedo’s form in the calendar year has been of a very high standard, growing in stature and confidence in a Chelsea shirt every week, firstly under Mauricio Pochettino and now under Enzo Maresca.
He has become the most trusted player in the dressing room. No Chelsea player has played more than his 3,760 Premier League minutes since the start of last season or made more appearances (43 starts and two as substitute). In terms of minutes, Nicolas Jackson (3,596) and Cole Palmer (3,485) are his closest challengers. Meanwhile, Fernandez, who must have thought he could become the key figure of Chelsea’s midfield, is losing ground at 2804 minutes. The Argentina international will struggle to close the gap any time soon because he has been named on the bench for three consecutive league fixtures. Romeo Lavia has been favoured instead.
Back to Caicedo. Just one list of statistics which emerged soon after Chelsea left Manchester United with the point that took them above Arsenal in the table on goal difference, was how he has been outperforming Rice over the first 10 league games.
🇪🇨 Moises Caicedo has registered more goals (1), more assists (2), more successful passes (463), more ball recoveries (50), more tackles (22), more interceptions (17), more duels won (68), more successful take-ons (7) in the PL than Declan Rice has managed for Arsenal.
🤯#CFC pic.twitter.com/iKegKAtOlT
— Mozo Football (@MozoFootball) November 3, 2024
There is other evidence of the 23-year-old’s influence. His three tackles at Old Trafford have taken his Premier League tally for 2024-25 to 35. No one has more in the division. He ranks sixth for interceptions (17), but the combined total (for interceptions and tackles) puts him ahead of everybody else.
Perhaps even more significantly in the minds of Chelsea’s fanbase is the revelation that he is averaging the most tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes in a Premier League season (5.2) for the club since the much revered N’Golo Kante (5.8) in 2020-21.
Maresca speaking to Caicedo after the game (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Maresca is cautious about getting too carried away. The Italian sidestepped a question in his press conference over whether he believes Caicedo should now be regarded as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, taking the man-management route of emphasising the quality of the whole squad while demanding more from Caicedo at the same time. He is definitely an admirer but believes there is a lot more to come.
He said: “Since we arrived, Moi is doing fantastic. I said during the week, the problem with Moi and Enzo — these kind of players — is probably the big money the club paid. Everyone expects them to be the best but they are human and it is normal. Moi is improving a lot. We are spending time with him and the rest to improve them.
“Most of the time in football, one plus one is not always two. Because he was so good at Brighton, it does not mean he is going to be as good at Chelsea. He needs more time; he needs to adapt.
“Chelsea is a big club, one of the best clubs in the world, so the impact is not easy. When they join Chelsea for a lot of money, people think they will arrive here and be the best but that’s why I said one plus one is not two.”
Maresca may be reluctant to build up Caicedo too much due to it being so early in his reign and with up to eight months of the season still to go (due to the Club World Cup). But actions speak louder than words and Maresca evidently sees him as a player he cannot be without.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
