It's a silver medal for Moises Caicedo. There's no shame to that, but those of a Chelsea persuasion reading this will undoubtedly be unhappy that he didn't claim top spot instead.
As was the case with midfield partner Fernandez, Caicedo took some while to find his feet at Stamford Bridge. There were several error-strewn performances during his debut 2023-24 season with the club, but is now head-and-shoulders above every other ball-winning midfielder in the division. The comparisons to N'Golo Kante and Claude Makelele are starting to make sense, though he still needs to win either the Premier League or Champions League to reach that same stratosphere.
After carrying Chelsea's midfield in their 1-0 win at Tottenham earlier in November, Robert Sanchez summed up how Blues players and fans feel about Caicedo best, dismissing the notion that it's even worth talking about his credentials. "I don't really need to talk about him but he's an actual animal," the Spaniard said, blasé with his demeanour. "He's the best player on the planet in his position. He's one of the best in the world, who is better than him in that position? He's a beast. Every 50-50, every challenge he wins and is so composed on the ball.
"I haven't seen him change much. As a player and as a character, he's always been the same, hard work, effort, quiet but a very good guy. Obviously, he's filled out with his body a bit more with age and with experience, he's just got better and better on the pitch. His confidence has also gone higher and higher. He's a boss at winning the midfield."