How Chelsea star helped Blues beat Arsenal and Liverpool to Moises Caicedo

Chelsea beat Arsenal and Liverpool to the signing of Moises Caicedo in 2023 and Enzo Fernandez says he played a small part in the Blues winning that race.

The Ecuadorian moved to Stamford Bridge from Brighton in August 2023 for an initial fee of £100m, which could rise to £115m with add-ons.

That was a record British transfer fee at the time, which seemed like quite a gamble on a player who had only had one full season in the Brighton first team.

The 24-year-old has been very impressive at Chelsea, though, earning huge praise this season as he has added goals to his combative, energetic approach to central midfield.

Caicedo has already found the back of the net four times this season, more than his previous two Chelsea campaigns combined.

His all-action style of play went too far on Sunday when he was shown a straight red card for a dangerous lunge on Arsenal’s Mikel Merino, but his form this season has been exceptional, on the whole.

Fernandez loves playing alongside him in the Chelsea midfield and reveals that he played a part in his move from Brighton, encouraging him to make the switch to Stamford Bridge while there was interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.

‘When I was told that the club was interested in Moises and he was about to join, the first thing I did was phone him to insist on him coming,’ Fernandez told GiveMeSport. ‘I told him how much the club wanted him. Thankfully, the deal went through and he’s with us now at Chelsea now.

‘We’re good friends and we share so many moments on and off the pitch. As I often say, I only have words of admiration for Moises.

‘He’s a great person and professional, who always gives his best for the squad. I’m very happy to have Moises as a teammate.

‘I think it works well because we perform different roles. Moises does more defensive work for the team, while I’m more attacking. We always try to help each other so that we can compete at the highest level to take Chelsea to the top.’

Caicedo told the Daily Mail of his decision to join Chelsea over Arsenal: ‘I almost did it but now I’m here and I’m so happy. The timing was good.

‘I waited until Chelsea came for me. People laughed. They said I chose the wrong place, but sometimes you need time to adapt to a big team. I needed that.

‘I want to give everything to this club because they didn’t doubt me. I chose Chelsea because they have ambitions. I want to win trophies – more trophies with this club.

‘I would like to be here for a long time. I want to keep playing like this but get even better. I want more trophies with this club.’

Chelsea will now be without Caicedo for three games after his red card on Sunday, which Enzo Maresca admitted was deserved, although he was left baffled as to why other similar challenges were not punished equally.

The Blues boss feels Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur produced a comparable foul on Reece James earlier this season, but did not see red.

‘They ask me about Moi’s [Caicedo] red card. It is a red card. But why Bentancur on Reece is not a red card [against] Spurs away?’ Maresca asked.

‘So us, as managers, we struggle to understand why they judge in different ways. Moi it is a red card, yes. Bentancur is a red card, yes. Why they not give them red card? It is just that we struggle to understand.’

Maresca had very high praise for Caicedo last month, comparing him to Manchester City’s Rodri and putting the pair as the best in their position on the planet.

‘Moi, I think he’s showing how good he is. He’s top,’ said the Italian. ‘I said many times, the best thing from Moi, for sure, we judge him inside the pitch, but he’s so humble, he’s such a good guy, he’s always there to help everyone.

‘And I just said to the television interviewer that for me, him and Rodri, in this moment, they are the two best defensive midfielders in the world.’