Why Moises Caicedo has to win Chelsea’s October Player of the Month over Estevao

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Chelsea’s Player of the Month nominations for October are in, and it’s a close call between Moises Caicedo and Estevao Willian.

In a month where Chelsea won four of their five games, plenty of names could be put forth for the award.

The nominees are Pedro Neto, Josh Acheampong, Reece James, Estevao, and Caicedo.

The latter two are favoured by most to win after some jaw-dropping displays. They were both on the scoresheet when Estevao’s last-minute heroics sank Liverpool at the start of the month, and they kept that momentum going.

Both players deserve massive plaudits, but Caicedo has been of an otherworldly level in recent weeks.

Comparing Estevao Willian and Moises Caicedo in October

Caicedo’s long-range hit and Estevao’s last-minute winner against the champions started a run of form that saw Chelsea win three games in a row before a disappointing Sunderland loss.

Following that was a 3-0 win over Forest where both came on as substitutes in the second half. The Blues scored twice within ten minutes of Caicedo’s introduction, having been locked in a scoreless draw before then.

Both candidates were on the scoresheet again as Chelsea hammered Ajax 5-1, taking their hot form to Europe. The two can be forgiven for one off-day, during which the entire Chelsea team looked a step slow. That was the sole loss of the month to Sunderland.

Estevao scored once again in the last game of October, when Chelsea knocked Wolves out of the Carabao Cup with a 4-3 win at Molineux. That gave Estevao three goals compared to Caicedo’s two.

But the Ecuadorian’s impact goes much deeper than goals.

Chelsea are a different team with Caicedo playing

It’s worth saying again. Either of these two could take the honour with little argument, but it’s the impact of Caicedo on the entire side that is so staggering.

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Caicedo is a remarkable defender. He played just six minutes as bottom-placed Wolves put three past Chelsea — that doesn’t happen if the Ecuadorian is on the pitch.

It’s difficult to measure all that he does to both protect the back line and initiate attacks. He’s first in blocks, tackles and interceptions while committing just 1.3 fouls per game — and all the while, he’s got the second-most goals for Chelsea this season, keeping pace with the star attackers.

The thing with Caicedo is that you only need to focus on him while Chelsea play to see all that he does.

Estevao had an outstanding month, but Chelsea have options to play instead of him that can yield similar results.

Caicedo is the definition of irreplaceable, and he showed that in October.