Why Chelsea are now seeing ‘real’ Caicedo – Potter

It feels like Chelsea are starting to see the real Moises Caicedo now, and I am not surprised their results have improved now he is doing so well.

I’ve known Moises since he first arrived in England to play for me at Brighton, and his story is an interesting one.

It was never a case where he landed in a new country and everything went great for him – but he has always shown he can cope when not everything goes to plan.

The way it began for him with us at Brighton was similar to what happened when he first joined Chelsea, in that it felt like he has had to suffer and dig in before coming out the other side and showing everyone his true quality.

He has established himself now at Chelsea, which is credit to him because that status has not come easy – for lots of reasons.

Moises has had to cope with a lot of criticism of his £115m price tag, and also criticism of him personally as a player in terms of what he has given to the team, so it’s no wonder he admitted he lost some confidence.

Things are different now. The Chelsea team has settled down a lot since he first joined, which has probably helped him a lot, but he has grown with them.

He is at an exciting club, in the way that they are a young team who are going to grow together, so they will get to know each other more and more – and he and they are only going to get better from here.

‘He joined a club in transition’

It is just over a year since Chelsea beat Liverpool to the race to buy Moises from Brighton, for an initial £100m fee – that could rise to a British record.

There is sometimes an expectation that you sign players and they are going to hit the ground running, and be some kind of instant solution to whatever problem you have got.

What people often misunderstand is that you have been watching a player who is playing a certain way, and functioning well in a well-functioning team.

When you put him in a different situation, and in a team that is not functioning in the same way, you don’t get the same player – temporarily, anyway. They just need some help and support to get back to that point.

You have to understand the context of the club he went to, because it is fair to say Chelsea were in a period of transition for a couple of years, including the time I was there as manager.

It was probably similar for Marc Cucurella, who also moved from Brighton to Chelsea in 2022. All of a sudden you are at a new club, with new team-mates and a new context. If the team is not doing well, that makes it even harder.

It is difficult for all players – not just young ones – and, just like he did when he first came to England, Moises had to adapt.

‘I’d describe his character as world class’

Moises was only 19 when we brought him over from Ecuador in 2021 and, when we sent him out on loan in Belgium a few months later, the team he joined were struggling at the bottom of the league.

Moises found that spell quite tough. We spoke to him a lot at that time, and also when he came back to Brighton at the start of 2022, when he felt he was still adapting to the intensity of the training sessions and the way the game is played over here.

Because he always had the physicality for the demands of the Premier League, we knew that once he did adapt he would be able to cope with it, no problem.

He just needed time, and the right pathway into the first team – we knew he was talented but we were never going to throw him off the plane from Ecuador and straight on to the pitch.

We tried to give him everything he needed, but the other thing that helped him make such an impact was his attitude. I would describe his character as world class, and I am sure it has made a difference for him at Chelsea too.

Moises is a mix of someone who wants to learn and improve, but is also highly intelligent anyway. The way he approaches things is the perfect combination for a manager or coach to work with, and because of that I always thought his future was extremely bright.

I’ve not spoken to him for a while, but I’d be amazed if he had changed, just because of how grounded he was when he was playing for me.

He was always extremely humble and understood the journey he had been on to come to England, and was grateful for the opportunities and support he was given.

At the same time, he had already done so much for himself – to play international football for Ecuador at a young age, and then break into the Brighton team and do so well.

‘He will make everyone else better too’

You never know for sure how a young player will do in the first team. All you can go off is what you see every day in training, and how he is as a person.

By that I mean how he can handle pressure, and deal with disappointment and setbacks, because those are the things that get challenged constantly in the Premier League.

Moises deserves great credit for the way he has come through all of those things, at Brighton and now at Chelsea, to be playing at the level he is currently at.

The fact that he has captained Chelsea already this season, in the Europa Conference League against Servette, says a lot about his mentality and tells you what people within the building think of him as a person.

That side of things does not surprise me at all, because I know what he is like and how he plays his football.

When people talk about team players, well, that’s Moises – he just wants to do the best he can for his team. Of course he is a better player when the team is functioning well, but he will make everyone else better too.

He is not the guy who is going to dribble past 10 players, or try something flash.

He is physical, he wins the ball for you and he keeps things simple when he has got it, although he has got quality too – look at the through ball he played for Nicolas Jackson to score against West Ham a couple of weeks ago.

The impact he has in the team goes beyond most of the stats that are shown for midfielders, because they don’t wholly reflect his role and influence on the team.

You can use those binary measurements, like tackles made, distance run or sprints and it tells you one thing about him – but not everything.

‘He gives balance to this Chelsea side’

When Moises was a teenager he was more of a box-to-box player, and at Brighton he did not start out as a dedicated holding player either.

He can play different roles in a team, including hitting the box – because he has the capacity to be that old-fashioned midfielder who can do everything – tackle and pass, and shoot and score.

At the moment, though, he is playing a specific role for Chelsea because of the way Enzo Maresca wants them to play, as the more defensive midfielder covering the five players ahead of him.

That makes sense because Chelsea have got their front three of Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson, with Cole Palmer behind them and Enzo Fernandez in a slightly higher position too.

Behind them, they have got Moises alongside one of their inverted full-backs, which provides them with the balance which allows that front five to attack.

So, what is asked of him is quite clear. Like I say, he could do other things as well but, at the same time, he is really good at the job Maresca has given him because of his intelligence and physical attributes.

To be a holding midfielder it helps if you are strong positionally, as in you read the game and are in the right position most of the time, but you also need to be able to cope if you do get it wrong occasionally, because it is going to happen.

In the Premier League you have defend big spaces sometimes, especially in a team like Chelsea – who like to drive the opposition back but leave them space to break into.

Moises’ positional sense will get better and better, the more he plays in that role, but he is already very good at recovering those big spaces and winning the ball back. Along with everything else, that makes him the perfect fit for the way they want to play.

I am really pleased to see him flourishing the way he is. He has seen his difficult periods out, without going under, and has kept on being himself – wanting the ball, winning the ball, and doing the right things.

This is just the start for him, but he and Chelsea are already seeing the rewards of his hard work.

Graham Potter was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.