I have spoken a lot on Moises Caicedo and why he struggled to settle at the start of his Chelsea career.
I always rated him highly and this is why I ignored the price we paid to sign him. I knew he would come good. Watching him at Brighton, you knew there was no way that he would be down for long.
Quite simply, it was the pressure of joining a big club. But not just any old big club, the pressure of joining a club that he absolutely loves. Just think back to that video of his proud Mother celebrating the move, that is how much it meant to him and his family. They all love Chelsea. It was literally a dream come true for the young player, and the pressure of it was a bit much.
Add that along with the fact he had a huge price tag over his head and needed to adapt and settle in to new surroundings, it all played a part in him having a slow and tough start to life as a Chelsea player. It’s quite natural really, just look at Kalidou Koulibaly as another example of this.
But Caicedo soon came through it, and this season he has been colossal and easily our best and most consistent player so far. I absolutely love to see it.
“It’s a dream come true,” Caicedo said on the Chelsea website this week. “It’s a great feeling. You always prepare for this moment and now you’re here at Stamford Bridge with your fans and winning games. You’re helping the team and it’s amazing – sometimes I go home and just smile.”
“This season, so far, we are doing fantastically, but for sure, all the players, the head coach, and the staff want us to do the same for the rest of the season.”
He also spoke on that tough period when he first arrived.
“When you come to a big club you always need to know that people are going to talk about you,” he continued. “It was me in that moment [after joining] and I suffered a little bit. But this is football and in football, this happens a lot.
“You need to be strong, to have a strong mentality, and to have good people around you to help you. I have that; my people support me in every moment and I’m so happy about that.
“I think he [Maresca] is happy with me because I always try to show him I want to help the team. He can see that in every game. I’m happy working with him, he is helping us a lot. All the players and staff are happy with how we are doing now.”
It’s so amazing to see him doing well. He’s such a lovable character and a key player for this team who we need to be on his game more than most. Good on ya, Moises!
