Moisés Caicedo, Ecuador’s golden boy has finally made his journey to Chelsea with a record transfer of £115 million. The 21 year old midfielder is one of the most sought after talents in football.
Caicedo’s game consists of tackling, possession and distribution. He is versatile and can play in a number of positions in midfield with the defensive midfielder and the right sided number 8 roles being his most suitable.
The player has revealed in his first interview as Chelsea player that he wants to play a central midfield role and also help his team Chelsea win the ball with his tackles.
Moises Caicedo: "I like to play more like a central midfielder to help the team to make some tackles. I like to make a lot of tackles."
He is technically sound and has played in a number of midfield positions. He can also be a big physical presence and can keep possession of the ball with close control. It will be interesting to see what he will bring to Chelsea.
As a DM
Caicedo was mostly deployed as a defensive midfielder at Brighton. At Chelsea he will win 1v1 defensive duels and serve as a layer of protection for the defenders. He possesses positional awareness which will help the team transition well.
Chelsea will make use of his strength and defensive prowess to win the ball. His hard tackling and passing will work together to make swift transitions. He will make interceptions and cut passing lanes to prevent the opposition from gaining momentum.
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Being very aggressive, Caicedo will bring his intensity and pressure the ball as soon as possession is lost. Another feature of his game is his off-ball play.
He can dictate the pace of the game and his ability to drift wide to lend support and security to the full-backs, Reece James and Ben Chilwell, and also wingers, if Pochettino employs them, to provide rigidity to the team.
As a deep pivot he will draw players on to himself and lose his marker with his technical ability to spread passes into the space created.
As a CM
Caicedo can also play as a central midfielder. He has played in this position at Brighton when Graham Potter and De Zerbi employed a three man defense. As a number 8 Caicedo will press forwards and in wider areas of the pitch.
Last season per 90 mins, Moises Caicedo won more tackles (2.7) and made more interceptions (1.5) than any other Chelsea midfielder.
This means he will be able to hunt for loose balls near the opponent’s pivot and from there pass the ball to the attacking players in front of him or to spaces behind the opponent’s defense. While in long periods of possession Caicedo will try to pass the ball over the opposition defense to players like Chukwuemeka, Mudryk and Sterling and also provide stability on the wings providing protection during defensive transition.
In this way he would provide an option out if the direction of attack changes. Along with Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez and Moisés Caicedo in midfield Chelsea will be a force to reckon with.
