The Ecuadorian midfielder, Moises Caicedo, has attributed the pressure of his £115 million price tag to a loss of confidence at Chelsea.
Moises Caicedo, who joined the club from Brighton for a British club record fee last summer, struggled with confidence in the beginning, but he found comfort at the club in the last few months of the 2023-2024 season.
Recall that in the said season, the 22-year-old Ecuadorian midfielder scored just a goal and provided four assists in 48 appearances in all competitions.
While acknowledging his challenging start to life at Stamford Bridge, Caicedo said the initial transition to a big club brought immense pressure to perform and win consistently.
“The beginning was tough for me because you are at a big club, the price, you always have to win every game,” Caicedo said, according to the BBC.
“It was tough for me because when I was in Brighton, the pressure was less. At Chelsea, it is different. I felt a lot of pressure because you know the club, the history, the players who were there.
“But after the last four or five months, I felt more comfortable at the club.”
Caicedo acknowledged the support he received from former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino and a performance coach, crediting them for helping him regain his confidence and rediscover his best form.
“A lot of people around me helped me – Mauricio and his staff. They were with me when I felt like I was not the same Moises,” he said.
“[I asked them] ‘Please help me because I want to show my quality, my football.’ They were with me. I have a person outside of the club who helped me a lot to get the pressure out of my mind.
“A guy I speak to regularly told me, ‘Moises, you are a good player, you can do whatever you want on the pitch with responsibility. Just trust in yourself. If Chelsea paid that [much money] for you, it’s because you are a very good player.’”
The midfielder also expressed confidence in the new Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, highlighting the similarities between Maresca’s preferred system and his playing style at Brighton.
Caicedo mentioned Maresca’s emphasis on showcasing his quality, demonstrating a good personality, and asserting his influence on the pitch.
“He plays like the same system that I played in Brighton. He wants the same”, Moises Caicedo said.
“He wants me to show my quality, to have a good personality, to show to my teammates that I am the boss on the pitch.”
Note that at 00:00 BST tonight, Chelsea will take on Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly in Charlotte, United States. On Sunday, they will take on Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge in their last friendly game before the commencement of the season.
