Mauricio Pochettino joked last month that Chelsea’s owners “would kill him” if he left Moises Caicedo out of the team.
So, it was perhaps a brave move to start the £115million summer signing on the bench at Newcastle last weekend.
Caicedo had just 24 hours earlier arrived back after international duty in South America with Ecuador and was still feeling the effects of a long flight.
A miserable display in the 4-1 defeat at Newcastle showed how much he was missed and highlighted his importance to Chelsea. Caicedo is set to come back into the team on Saturday when the Blues host his former club Brighton.
It has not always been smooth for the midfielder since his British-record transfer, but he has a vital role in the way Pochettino wants the team to play.
Midfield understudy Lesley Ugochukwu struggled against Newcastle’s press and his lack of assertiveness put pressure on the defence, with Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile and Marc Cucurella all making mistakes and Reece James getting sent off.
When Caicedo came on in the 69th minute, he tried to bring some control, but the game was already lost.
Pochettino said Chelsea were “soft in every challenge” and “not ready to compete”, questioned their “maturity, personality and character” and threatened to cancel two scheduled days off.
Each point feels important before they face Roberto De Zerbi’s high-energy style of play, which should pose a similar level of pressing intensity and fight.
"It has not always been smooth for the midfielder since his British-record transfer, but he has a vital role in the way Pochettino wants the team to play"
Chelsea will look to Caicedo to bring some of the attributes they missed last weekend. Pochettino has called him “one of the best midfielders in the world” and was delighted when Chelsea outmanoeuvred Liverpool to sign him.
Caicedo has, perhaps understandably, needed time to adapt to his new club, but Chelsea quickly need him back to his Brighton best as they bid to stay in the hunt for a European spot.
