Enzo Maresca: ‘Moises Caicedo is starting to show why Chelsea broke the British transfer record’
Enzo Maresca believes that midfielder Moises Caicedo is starting to show why Chelsea broke the British transfer record to bring him in.
The west Londoners signed Caicedo from Brighton for £115million in August 2023 and beat Liverpool to his signature.
He penned an eight-year deal at Stamford Bridge but experienced an up-and-down first campaign with the Blues.
The Ecuadorian scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday, with the 22-year-old starting every Premier League outing since the Italian manager arrived from Leicester City.
“Moises has been fantastic,” said Maresca.
“I said during the week that the problem with him is that because the club paid big money, people expect them always to be the best.
“In the end, they’re human beings, so it’s normal to be a bit up and down. He’s improving a lot, and we’re trying to spend time with him to help him improve.
“He’s showing how good he is. Most of the time in football, one plus one is not two. Because he was so good at Brighton, that does not mean immediately when he joins Chelsea, we will be as good as he was there.
“He needs a bit more time to adapt. Chelsea is one of the best clubs in the world. Because we paid them a lot of money, we think: ‘They’re going to arrive here and be the best.’
“You need a bit of time. He’s showing now how good he was and how good he is this year.
“I have one of the best squads in the Premier League – no doubt about it. Moises belongs to the squad.
“The first thing I said to the club when I met them was that I was in love with the squad – it’s very good.
“Talent is not enough, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
United – with interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy in charge for his first Premier League game – took the lead through a Bruno Fernandes penalty in the 70th minute.
Chelsea equalised four minutes later through Caicedo.
“We controlled the game overall quite well,” said Maresca.
“We knew against them that we were going to concede some chances, especially on the counter attack with the skills of their players.
“We did the most difficult thing in this stadium against this team – coming back after they scored.
“We were down and we came back immediately. After it was 1-1, because of our desire to win the game, we exposed ourselves too much.
“In the last five or 10 minutes, we conceded the ball a bit more.
“We used to say in Italy: ‘When you can’t win, it’s important you don’t lose’. We tried everything to win the game, but it’s important to continue in this direction.”
Chelsea are at home to Arsenal on Sunday (4.30pm).
The two London clubs are level on points – 18 – with the Blues one spot higher in fourth due to a slightly superior goal difference.