Why Moises Caicedo is One of Europe’s Most Sought-After Young Midfielders
Moises Caicedo has only just finished his first season in England, but he is already one of the most sought-after players in the country. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United are all vying for his services as they look to bolster their respective midfields with one of Europe’s brightest young stars.
Caicedo most definitely fills the bill as a ball-winning midfielder having developed statistically calculated WhoScored.com strengths of ‘tackling’ and ‘ball interceptions’, and the numbers back this up. When it comes to his pursuit of possession, the Ecuador international made 100 tackles in the Premier League last season, which only nine players in Europe’s top five leagues could match.
He was one of only two players in England’s top tier to reach triple figures for tackles, with Fulham’s Joao Palhinha (147) the other. What makes that return all the more impressive is the consistency in which Caicedo wins his tackles. Of the 115 players in Europe’s top five leagues to attempt 100 or more tackles in 2022/23, his tackle success rate of 78.1 per cent was the third best, behind only Juventus’ Danilo (81.4 per cent) and Espanyol’s Vinicius Souza (79.2 per cent) as he was dribbled past just 28 times in his 3141 minutes of action.
In terms of intercepting the ball, Caicedo again ranked highly in the Premier League last season, sitting joint second with 56, behind a potential future teammate in Rice (63). Additionally, among players aged 21 and under in Europe’s top five leagues, only Lyon’s Castello Lukeba (75), a player who could be on the move to the Premier League this summer, could better that figure last season.
To further set in stone just how good Caicedo was in carrying out his defensive duties last term, he was one of only 25 players to win the ball at least 200 times (248) in the Premier League, with only seven players betting that return. This includes winning possession in the midfield third 142 times, which only Manchester City’s Rodri (187) and Rice (173) could better. Even in the air, the midfielder holds an advantage above most, winning 63.8 per cent of the aerial duels he contested last season.
Caicedo ranks as one of the ball winners in Europe, and has the potential to become even better, which may go some way in explaining Brighton’s hefty asking price. He is more than just a ball-winning midfielder, though.
The former Independiente del Valle youngster is able to pick out a teammate with ease. Indeed, Caicedo’s pass success rate of 88.8 per cent was bettered by only 16 players in the Premier League last season, nine of whom played for either Arsenal or Manchester City. Not only is his passing range accurate, but it is also vast. ‘Likes to do layoffs’ is a statistically calculated WhoScored.com style of play, which of course can play a key part in creating attacking situations in De Zerbi’s system.
All 32 of Caicedo’s attempted layoffs were accurate, with only seven players in the Premier League last season making more. Going direct is occasionally required, even from the best possession-based teams, and Caicedo ticks this box, too, having averaged 2.5 accurate long balls per 90 in England’s top tier last term.
A key benefit for Mikel Arteta’s side, however, is Caicedo’s ability to adapt to different positions and still perform to a high standard. At the end of the 2022/23 campaign, we saw Arteta start Thomas Partey at right-back, a role Caicedo operated in on occasion last season. Due to injuries, De Zerbi started the midfielder at right-back three times in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, while his best rated performance according to WhoScored.com came while starting at right-back against Arsenal at the Emirates (7.87) when the Seagulls ran riot with a 3-0 victory.
Here, Caicedo was not only able to showcase his talent off the ball as he made more tackles (5) than any other player, but also in possession as only Bukayo Saka (4) completed more successful dribbles than the Brighton star (3). Modern football is demanding more from players to perform to a high standard in a variety of positions, and this is something Caicedo has demonstrated that he can clearly do.
Brighton won’t budge on a big fee for Caicedo, and any potential moves for him will prove to be one of the sagas of the summer and after his displays last season, it is easy to see why. If he does secure a Seagulls exit in the off season, then his new side will be landing one of football’s brightest young midfielders.