Ahead of his return to Brighton this evening, Moises Caicedo is reflecting on what may have been his best performance to date following a challenging start to life at Chelsea.
The £115 million midfield player has been performing well lately even without Enzo Fernandez at his side, allowing him to avoid the pressure of his transfer price tag, which set a British record.
Caicedo has produced an outstanding performance in a three-game winning streak against Tottenham, West Ham, and Nottingham Forest since Fernandez decided to have surgery to address a groyne issue.
Caicedo was dominant in the two home derbies; nevertheless, during a difficult second half versus Forest, he had to settle in and be aggressive. He had 114 touches of the ball and completed 92% of his passes at the City Ground on Saturday. In a 3-2 victory, his first-ever clipped through-ball to Reece James set up Nicolas Jackson’s game-winning header.
His performance is encouraging going into the game on the South Coast, but Chelsea may find it concerning in the long run because Fernandez’s absence has coincided with his growth.
Officials at Chelsea believed that the Caicedo-Fernandez pivot could usher in a period of supremacy after they acquired the two for a combined £222 million.
Before moving to Chelsea last summer, Caicedo even gave Fernandez a call to get his opinion, and they get along well off the pitch. On the pitch, though, such has not been the case.
In the 22 games that the two have played together, Chelsea has only won 1.5 points per game, which is less than the 2.5 points per game in the eight games that Caicedo has played with a different player.
When Caicedo has played without Fernandez, Chelsea has won almost 75% of its games.
Naturally, Fernandez continues to be the superb tactician who helped Argentina win the World Cup, despite his sustained injuries.
Despite finding an elevation in pairing Caicedo with Gallagher and having Marc Cucurella go into midfield while generating attacks, Mauricio Pochettino has defended Fernandez. However, there are worries that Fernandez is more alike to his fellow South American midfielder than people think, and Caicedo has found a superior partner in Gallagher.
The sale of Gallagher this summer to help balance the budget could further complicate the picture. Pochettino’s midfield is producing the finest results for Caicedo for the time being.
With Caicedo at the centre of Chelsea’s midfield, Pochettino is growing more confident about Chelsea’s prospects of making it to Europe the next season.
He remarked, “Even if he is doing well, I expect more from him.” “I’m confident he’ll be much better next season. He’s one of the players who can yet get better.
