The midfielder has rediscovered his best form as the Blues travel to the club he dramatically snubbed in the 2023 summer transfer window
There are very few players who should command a transfer fee north of £100 million ($130m), and Moises Caicedo certainly wasn't one of them when Chelsea splurged that eye-watering sum (plus £15m more in potential add-ons) to snatch him from under Liverpool's noses in 2023. A dramatic deal that reignited the rivalry between the two clubs, it initially looked like the Blues would be on the wrong side of history, but Caicedo has finally found his feet at Stamford Bridge.
Having toiled in a transitional side following his blockbuster move, the 22-year-old has slowly but surely returned to the kind of level that convinced the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership to smash the British record for a cumulative fee. Under the tutelage of new head coach Enzo Maresca, he has looked every bit the midfield destroyer they thought they were getting.
"He [Maresca] has given me responsibility. It’s good when the manager does that because he knows you can do it well," Caicedo said recently. "He always tells me to help the team attacking and defending, and that’s what I’m doing on the pitch. I am working on both sides helping to get forwards and backwards, and I’m so happy when I help the team to win games."
Caicedo returns to Merseyside on Sunday in the form of his Chelsea career so far, and he will be intent on making a statement against his would-be employers in the Anfield cauldron.
GettyInitial struggles
Caicedo's lacklustre start to life at Chelsea is now infamous, although it was caveated by the fact he had barely played in pre-season in 2023 as he was frozen out at Brighton by then-boss Roberto De Zerbi amid some intense transfer interest from the west Londoners and Liverpool.
Despite his lack of minutes and match sharpness, Mauricio Pochettino threw the new man straight in at the deep end and, perhaps unsurprisingly, he floundered; the midfielder conceded a penalty in his debut cameo against West Ham and was caught in possession in the lead-up to Nottingham Forest's winner at Stamford Bridge two games later, as Chelsea made a dreadful start to 2023-24.
Inevitably, Caicedo's exorbitant price tag cranked up scrutiny around his performances tenfold, and although he eventually settled and gradually improved along with the Blues' overall displays as the season wore on, his individual campaign was already tarnished.
AdvertisementGetty'It was tough for me'
Speaking earlier in October, Caicedo admitted he had found the adaptation to heightened expectation levels at Stamford Bridge a difficult one: "At the beginning of last season it was a little bit tough for me. It's a very big club and you have to get used to it. I learned a lot.
"When someone new comes in with new ways, you need to adapt: to a new club and playing with the impression that you need to win every game."
Caicedo had previously referenced the weight of his astronomical £115m price tag, admitting he lost belief in himself: "Yes, confidence," he said. "I have the quality and I know the player I am. But sometimes if you are not strong in your mind, it is difficult."
GOAL Unpopular on Merseyside
One club in particular revelled in Caicedo's early woes: Chelsea's opponents on Sunday, Liverpool.
The Ecuadorian's bombshell rejection of the Reds' advances in 2023 in favour of a move to Stamford Bridge – mere days before Romeo Lavia followed suit in a remarkable double snub – provoked widespread bitterness towards both the player and the Anfield hierarchy from the fanbase, as they missed out on a man who was considered to be an essential part of their midfield rebuild following the exits of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and James Milner.
Unsurprisingly, those associated with Liverpool were first in line to point and laugh as soon as things went awry for both Caicedo and Lavia, with the latter effectively missing the whole season through injury, with that misfortune seemingly viewed as some form of karmic retribution.
The double snub had been swiftly forgotten and the mood on Merseyside buoyed by new signings Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo all hitting the ground running. The latter was signed as a defensive-midfield alternative and effectively cost seven times less than Caicedo (£16m/$21m).
Even Jurgen Klopp weighed in, with the now-former Reds boss quipping in December last year: "We had a few strange things happen in the transfer market but here, between us, I can say, ‘my god, were we lucky, eh?'. We didn’t know that in that moment and it didn’t feel like it in that moment, but yeah, I’m really happy that it worked out." Still, Caicedo is "100%" convinced he made the right decision.
GettyVast improvement
Caicedo and Chelsea will be thrilled, then, that as they prepare to re-enter the Anfield cauldron, their record signing is in the kind of form that convinced them to trump Liverpool and shell out on him 14 months ago.
The 22-year-old had looked increasingly assured under Pochettino in the second half of last season, having hired a specialist to help him, and he has taken significant strides forward since Maresca was appointed in the summer – emerging as one of the Blues' key players at the base of midfield.
He seems to have rediscovered that destructiveness that made him such an outstanding prospect at Brighton, leading the Chelsea squad in tackles won (16), blocks (11) and interceptions (10), averaging 3.95 tackles and 1.46 interceptions per 90. He has already made 39 ball recoveries in seven Premier League games played.
Caicedo is in the 94th and 92nd percentiles for duels won and defensive actions respectively across the Premier League so far this season, and the 90th and 70th for key and progressive passes as he demonstrates that he is not all about defending. His best performance to date came in the demolition of West Ham, as he capped a fine overall display with an exquisite, slide-rule assist for Nicolas Jackson.
