Former Premier League star Troy Deeney has named Moises Caicedo in his team of the week and believes the midfielder is now starting to deliver for the Blues.
Caicedo arrived at Chelsea from Brighton for a British record fee of £115m last summer and it took the midfielder a little bit of time to get up to speed in his new surroundings.
After a slow start the Ecuador international started to find his feet and put in some impressive performances over the second half of the campaign, including a goal of the season contender on the final day of last season against Bournemouth.
Deeney shares thoughts on Caicedo
The 22-year-old will play a key role for Enzo Maresca this season and captained the side for Saturday’s victory against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Caicedo’s performances have come in for criticism because of the expectation created by his price tag, but he has in large started the campaign well with some impressive performances.
Deeney was impressed with Caicedo’s showing against the Cherries and named him in his Premier League team of the week.
“I think the £100m price tag is starting to wear off now,” he said in his BBC Sport column.
“He’s started to deliver and become the player that we saw at Brighton.
“Defensively he was excellent and everyone that needed to be tackled, he tackled.”
Chelsea are blessed for options in midfield with the likes of Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, whilst they also have talented youngsters Andrey Santos and Lesley Ugochukwu out on loan.
However, despite the array of talent available it seems Caicedo will be a crucial piece in Maresca’s Chelsea puzzle this season.
After an impressive performance against Bournemouth Caicedo will be looking to carry his form into Saturday’s game against West Ham as the Blues look to make it back to back wins in the league for the first time this season.