When Chelsea and Newcastle United square off this week, Mykhailo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo have the ability to make Callum Wilson regret his remarks. On Tuesday, the Blues will host the Magpies at Stamford Bridge in an attempt to advance both teams to the Carabao Cup semifinal.
Chelsea enters the match having defeated Sheffield United handily the previous weekend, while Newcastle triumphed over Fulham to recover from their Champions League loss. The west London team is currently 12 points behind fourth-place Manchester City in the Premier League. Mauricio Pochettino knows that winning the EFL Cup will guarantee a spot in the Europa Conference League.
So, Mudryk and Caicedo will need to step up on Tuesday night if Chelsea hopes to secure a spot in Europe for the upcoming campaign. Wilson has been critical of the team all year, so there’s even more motivation for the pair and their teammates.
The Newcastle striker described the young player’s transfer as a “risk” after the Blues defeated Arsenal to sign Mudryk. Wilson stated in a January interview with the Footballer’s Football Podcast: “It’s a tricky one because he’s obviously had to take so much into consideration.”
“At that age, a player is entering a critical phase of their career when they want to continue growing, so it’s a long haul whether he sees himself improving more at Chelsea than at Arsenal, or staying at that one club for eight and a half years.
“At the conclusion of that period, he will receive a testimonial! It seems like you’re essentially giving your career to that club, so in my opinion, it’s a difficult decision.
Although the managers aren’t having the best of seasons right now, I would like to go in lesser stages to see how you go. You simply don’t know, but he has accepted the risk. Although I haven’t seen much of him, I’m confident that he is a fantastic player given the kind of money they paid.”
Then, in August, Wilson asserted that the Blues could have signed him and two other players for the cost of the former Brighton midfield player, after Chelsea defeated Liverpool to capture Caicedo. “How many midfielders do they want?” he asked. Let’s clarify the situation.
“I don’t think I’ve seen much of Caicedo in midfield. He started at right-back against us when we played Brighton. But for what he’s cost, you could definitely purchase me and still have change left over after getting [Sandro] Tonali and [Bruno] Guimaraes! £20,000,000 buys you me!
“That’s why the money is going crazy,” the striker, who is valued at £13 million, continued. Most likely, it’s only that Premier League to Premier League. You would be paying £4 million to acquire him if he were arriving from somewhere else, like Brighton did. It’s insane that you are making over £100 million in profit.”
Wilson can be forced to retract his remarks if Mudryk and Caicedo can make an impression on Tuesday.