ESPN pundit says Chelsea duo are ‘miles away’ from Declan Rice’s level

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There was a lot of pre-season excitement around what a midfield of Enzo Fernanedez and Moises Caicedo could do together at Chelsea.

However, it’s safe to say that as a partnership it’s not yet reached the expected heights. This was highlighted during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat away to Manchester United last night in the Premier League.

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, both aged 22, looks like it should be a match made in heaven when you consider the midfielders can do a bit of everything between them. In fairness, Blues teammate Conor Gallagher has outshone both expensive signings so far this season.

Fernandez is still desperately trying to prove why he cost £106.8million (Sky Sports) to bring to Stamford Bridge back in January. Meanwhile, Caicedo’s got a mammoth £115million price tag (Sky Sports) over his head following his summer arrival, too.

Steve Nicol rips into Chelsea midfielders

ESPN pundit Steve Nicol doesn’t think either Caicedo or Fernandez are doing enough in Chelsea colours.

Interestingly, he’s made a comparison between them and Declan Rice, who made a £105million move (Sky Sports) to Arsenal in the summer. The England star is living up to his price tag as an all-action midfielder in Arsenal’s side.

Nicol told ESPN: “We spoke yesterday about Declan Rice… Now that’s a £100million footballer. Caicedo and Fernandez, you wouldn’t pay £100million for the two of them right now because they are miles away from a guy like Declan Rice.

“If you’re going to spend £200million on two guy in the middle of the park, they better be dominating some of the game. Since the two of them signed I don’t remember them dominating anybody. You can’t have that when you spend £200m.”

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo trailing Declan Rice

We’re not going to argue the fact that Rice has had a much superior campaign so far than his Chelsea rivals.

However, it’s shocked nobody that 24-year-old Rice has gone seamlessly from years as a Premier League star at West Ham into a talented Arsenal group chasing a title.

For Fernandez and Caicedo, they’ve had pressure on them from day one to perform in a team stuck in mid-table.

Speaking via Prime Video last night, Ally McCoist admitted he was “disappointed” by the performances of both Fernandez and Caicedo in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat away to Manchester United.

We’re certainly not ready to write off the talented youngster yet. However, the Blues could really do with them finding their form quickly.