Graham Potter explains what Chelsea star Moises Caicedo used to struggle with, ‘he needed to adapt’… Graham Potter has made an interesting claim about Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo by highlighting the area of his game where he’s significantly improved.
Without a doubt, Moises Caicedo has been one of the top performers at Chelsea so far this season. The 23-year-old defensive midfielder is an ever-present in Enzo Maresca’s XI, providing consistent and quality displays every game. Even though the Ecuador international had a challenging debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, this second season as a Blues player is turning out to be magnificent. He’s beginning to justify why the club splashed out £115m to purchase him from Brighton.
Gary Neville claims Chelsea’s Caicedo has gone from “awful” to “outstanding” during an incredible turnaround in West London. Similarly, Ally McCoist admits Caicedo has turned things around at Chelsea.
Graham Potter explains what Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo used to struggle with. Graham Potter, the former Chelsea boss, previously coached Caicedo when they crossed over at Brighton.
Apparently, the midfield star initially struggled with the pace of the game when he first made the move over to English football. We’d now argue that he’s turned that weakness into his greatest strength because he covers every blade of grass with such intensity every 90 minutes.
During a segment about Caicedo, Potter told Sky Sports: “I remember speaking to him early on and the pace of the game was the challenge for him. It’s not that he couldn’t do it because he has the physicality. It was more the intensity of doing it every day that he needed to adapt to. But I’m sure that the academy (Independiente del Valle) gave him the foundation to be able to deal with it all.”
“He wasn’t going to get ahead of himself. His first goal was to get into the Brighton team, to play well and to show his qualities. I think he had a loan spell in Belgium that was really good for him in lots of ways.”
Caicedo previously shared he was inspired by Chelsea legend N’Golo Kante. In fairness, you can see a few similarities between the pair and their style of play in the centre of the park. The Blues need some more work on the spine of their team to elevate them to new heights, but in Caicedo, they already own the midfield general. Mauricio Pochettino was spot on with Moises Caicedo. Mauricio Pochettino, who managed Chelsea last year, has surely been keeping a close eye on what’s happening at Stamford Bridge.
Everything started to click into gear at the end of the 2023/24 season before he left the Blues by mutual consent in the summer. In fact, several individuals were starting to find real form under him.
Back in May 2024, Pochettino insisted Caicedo would be much better during his second Chelsea season. He said: “I expect more from him even if he is doing well. I think next season I have no doubt he will be much better.” The prediction was spot on because Caicedo is in the conversation alongside the Premier League’s best midfielders this term.
