The debate on every football fan’s lips right now concerns who is better out of Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo and Arsenal’s Declan Rice.
Those outside of the Blues fanbase are now finally starting to recognise how good Caicedo has become since making the move to Stamford Bridge just over two years ago.
His recent wondergoal against Liverpool saw pundits heap praise on the Ecuador international. Gary Neville picked Caicedo over Rice as his best midfielder in the Premier League.
The England international, who was previously a key target for Chelsea in the transfer market, has also enjoyed a very strong campaign for the league leaders.
Moises Caicedo celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Liverpool in the Premier League.
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Claude Makelele picks Moises Caicedo over Declan Rice
Claude Makelele is someone who knows exactly what is required of a central midfielder, and is a good person to ask when debates like this occur.
The Frenchman was asked to play ‘Start, Bench, Sell’ with Caicedo, Rice and Ryan Gravenberch, and selected the Ecuadorian as the one he would start, with Rice on the bench.
One of the biggest reasons why people have started to take more notice of Caicedo is because he has added more regular goals to his game.
The midfielder has three Premier League goals to his name, as well as finding the net from distance in the Champions League against Ajax.
Chelsea FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League
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Caicedo snubbed for FIFPro World XI
Chelsea had their first representative in the FIFPro World XI since 2021 when Cole Palmer was named in the squad for 2025.
Caicedo should definitely have been named in the World XI ahead of Jude Bellingham, and it feels as if his individual performances will only be properly acknowledged when he gets more games under his belt in the Champions League.
This is his first season at the top level of European football, although it has not taken long for him to make his mark amongst the best in the world.
Caicedo dominated against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, and will be a crucial part of the side for the remaining huge group stage games against the likes of Barcelona and Napoli.