Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo is an “amazing” player that still needs to get so much better.
That is according to former Blues star Claude Makelele.
Moises Caicedo, 22, has split opinion during his debut season in Chelsea colours.
Of course, there’s been big pressure on his shoulders following a British-record transfer from Brighton to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Despite criticism from parts of the media, we feel like the midfielder’s been one of the rare consistent performers in the Blues squad. It’s certainly not his fault he cost a mammoth £115 million transfer fee (Sky Sports).
When talking about Caicedo, Makelele told The Athletic: “He needs to learn. He’s an amazing player. If Chelsea don’t give him the platform with these details he will struggle and it will be difficult and he won’t play at a higher level than he was before in the Premier League (with Brighton). He needs to learn, to read — it’s very important for people to give him this message.
“It’s not about the physical quality, it’s about the smarts. Understanding about when to make an impact, when not to, learning about where your team-mates are, you have to use this position to read the game. You need to have leadership in this position. You don’t play for yourself, you play for everyone else to be OK in the team. Because the manager can’t do anything anymore, you have to guide the way to play and the way to win.”
Moises Caicedo can improve
We agree there’s more to come from Caicedo, but it’s certainly not all doom and gloom with him.
Speaking via talkSPORT this week, Paul Ince said he thinks Caicedo doesn’t look as good as he did for Brighton.
In our view, the all-action central midfielder has still been pretty influential both on and off the ball.
From what we’ve observed in recent weeks, Caicedo and Conor Gallagher are playing well in the centre of the park. Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez may need to raise his own levels a bit in midfield.
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