Moises Caicedo may finally be putting his record transfer fee behind him as Chelsea’s new leader.
That’s at least according to talkSPORT host Jason Cundy, who has been left hugely impressed with the Ecuadorian’s leading role under manager Enzo Maresca.
Caicedo has had a fine start to the season for a Chelsea team who appear to finally be making progress for the first time since Clearlake-Boehly consortium takeover of the club in 2022.
Featuring in 12 out of a possible 16 games, the 23-year-old is perhaps the second name on the team sheet after Cole Palmer, and topped off a great run with his first goal of the campaign in a 1-1 draw at Manchester United.
Former Chelsea defender Cundy has been amazed by what he’s seen, and thinks Caicedo even has a case as the best midfielder going when Rodri isn’t fit.
Speaking on Inside Chelsea, he explained: “He’s the legs, the energy. He’s a little bit like N’Golo Kante, he closes space and squeezes the pitch high.
“People think Kante was a defensive midfielder but he wasn’t. He was a box-to-box midfielder and what he does in the zone where he protects the back four and goes and fights with Romeo Lavia, he is remarkable.
“The energy levels, the corner that they nearly scored from at the end, he chases back beyond our back four, his lungs, energy and quality on the ball, he could go on and be Cheslea’s player of the season.”
Caicedo has started Chelsea’s last three matches alongside Lavia in midfield, and despite being the most expensive player in British history at £115million, the former Brighton man is shifting the spotlight elsewhere.
Commenting on Maresca’s new first-choice pairing, Cundy thinks their form is bad news for £105m Enzo Fernandez.
“No one mentions the price tag anymore, they do with Enzo Fernandez but not him,” he said.
“Maresca has to play them both. Caicedo is now starting to emerge as one of those leaders on the pitch and that’s really important.
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“He plays like a captain and he looks like a captain, that’s something this squad has missed since [Cesar] Azpilicueta, [Mateo] Kovacic and [Olivier] Giroud left.
“Lavia and him, they are the pivot, they link up so well, Fernandez has a real problem now and won’t start against Arsenal.
“Name a better midfield two, and if there is one, there aren’t many more. I can’t think of a better midfield two in the Premier League than those two.”
