Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought Chelsea, they have spent an eye-watering amount of money, investing in every area of the pitch, as well as stocking up some of the best young talents in the world.
One area Chelsea have heavily invested in since the arrival of their new owners, is central midfield, signing Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Roméo Lavia, Andrey Santos, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
And it is their most expensive of the lot that has impressed the most, with Caicedo going from strength to strength and showing his true quality in all phases of the game.
Moises Caicedo's importance
Since joining the club, Caicedo has made 62 appearances, scoring two goals and providing six assists, whilst playing across 5,067 minutes.
The 23-year-old has won the most tackles and interceptions combined in the Premier League this season, hoovering up balls in the middle of the park, winning his duels and keeping things ticking for the Blues.
Enzo Maresca has even stated the importance of Caicedo to his side, calling him “fantastic” since become manager. We have also begun to see slightly more from Caicedo in the playmaking department, spraying passes from deep, and chipping in with some assists this season already.
“Since we arrived, Moi Caicedo has been fantastic”. “I said during the week, because the club pay big money, people expect them to be the best. It’s normal to be up and down. Moi is improving a lot. He is showing how good he is.”
That attacking nature could be further unleashed as the defensive line behind him improves, giving him slightly more freedom to express himself, and Chelsea may well look to improve that in the near future.
Chelsea looking at Premier League defender
According to reports from talkSPORT, Chelsea are considering a move for Crystal Palace defender, Marc Guehi. The 24-year-old would reportedly cost in the region of £70m, as Newcastle refused to pay that fee for him in the summer transfer window.
Guehi came through the Chelsea academy, making 102 appearances for the U18, U19 and U21 sides, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists. But it was on loan with Swansea in the 2020/21 season that Guehi truly established himself, making 45 appearances and, contributing to 18 clean sheets.
It was his time at Swansea that saw him labelled as a “giant” by scout Jacek Kulig, despite being just 5 foot 11, which is small for a defender.
But his presence on the pitch, ability to read the game at such a young age, and make timely challenges in defence, made him a target for clubs to swipe away from Chelsea, and it was Palace who secured him for a fee of around £20m.
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Fast-forward to now, Guehi often captains the Eagles. The England international has made 126 appearances for Palace now, scoring seven goals and providing two assists, establishing himself as one of the league’s top defenders. He has also been a “monster” for England in the eyes of Palace reporter Bobbi Manzi on the way to earning 22 caps for his country.
A pairing of Guehi and Levi Colwill would provide Chelsea with an excellent base of progressive passing, both players having the ability to play disguised passes between the lines, an important factor of Maresca’s system at Chelsea, and a big reason the latter has thrived this campaign thus far.
Progressive Carries
0.42
0.25
Progressive Passes
4.17
3.92
Passes Attempted
52.8
72.1
Pass Completion %
85.2%
89.2%
Passes into Final Third
3.75
3.83
Tackles
1.33
0.83
Blocks
1.92
1.25
Interceptions
0.84
1.26
Aerial Duels Won
2.75
1.50
Despite being a smaller central defender, Guehi also wins 2.75 aerial duels, a metric that Chelsea haven’t dominated in recent years, and adding some extra aerial ability would go a long way to improving the squad at both ends of the pitch.
Not only would it solidify Maresca’s backline but it would go a long way to helping the midfielders, like Caicedo, gain some extra security when progressing play.
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