Moises Caicedo: Why Arsenal and Chelsea are chasing Brighton and Ecuador midfielder
Each day we pick out a player and cut through the noise to give analytical, objective insight. Thursday's focus is on in-demand Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.
- Age: 21
- Position: Midfielder
- Club: Brighton
- Country: Ecuador
When fees of £75m are being bandied around for a 21-year-old with just 26 Premier League matches under his belt, it's easy to think football has gone completely mad.
And, of course, in many ways, it has. But if we ignore the astronomical figures and just focus on what Moises Caicedo can bring to a team, it is not difficult to see why the youngster is attracting interest from some of the top flight's top sides.
After breaking into the Brighton side at the tail end of last season, Caicedo is posting some of the best numbers in the division so far this term - yes, it's only half a campaign, but we can balance the small sample size with the upside that is yet to come.
And his performances at the World Cup, impressing in an exciting Ecuador side that was incredibly unlucky to just miss out on qualifying for the knockout stages, showed Caicedo is able to strut his stuff on the highest stage.
His average of just under three successful tackles per game (2.9) ranks inside the top 10 of all Premier League players this season and his lofty tackle success rate of 88% is an indication of just how effective he has been in a deep-lying midfield role.
Caicedo leads the Brighton squad in that successful tackle stat and also has more successful interceptions - 1.4 per game - than any of his team-mates, proving how adept he is at reading opposition passes as well as ending opponents' dribbles.
That interception figure also ranks just outside the league's top 10 but his strengths are not just confined to breaking up play and his adaptability in playing further forward is why he is such a potentially valuable asset for any side.
The South American averages 1.1 key passes per game, which ranks him inside the league's top 50 players for that metric. Only top 50, yes - but bear in mind he's been employed as a CDM for most of those games so that's a decent feat.
To compare, 1.1 is the number also averaged by players such as Wilfried Zaha, Bruno Guimaraes, Thiago and Rodri - and it's more than the 0.9 averaged by Caicedo's more attacking-minded buddies Alexis Mac Allister, Kaoru Mitoma and Adam Lallana.
Is he worth £75m? Probably not. But there's little point over-analysing transfer fees in a market that has become ridiculously over-inflated during the past 25 years.
But when it comes to players aged under 25, Caicedo ranks in the Premier League's top 20 for key passes made and aerial challenges won, fourth for total passes, fifth for both tackles won and interceptions made. He's a true all-rounder.
His main drawback? The concession of fouls. An average of two fouls given away per game ranks him the third worst offender in that metric and while it is par for the course for an industrious midfielder, it is a part of his game he will need to improve. He has five bookings in 18 league appearances this season too.
Nonetheless, the positive numbers easily drown out the odd negative and they are why Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea are reported to be willing to duke it out for his signature.
With Granit Xhaka and N'Golo Kante both into their 30s now, it is no surprise Caicedo would be at the top of both clubs' wish lists and Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi recently admitted the Seagulls will struggle to keep hold of him this summer.