Pundit calls underappreciated player “Chelsea’s engine” and says Blues can’t perform without him | OneFootball

As Cole Palmer’s form has faded through this season, talk of who the club’s player of the season is has shifted to one man – Moises Caicedo.

He’s been consistently great all season, and despite playing almost every minute of every game he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Romeo Lavia’s endless injury issues have meant Caicedo has had to play a lot more than we’re sure the club would like – he will likely play some minutes tonight simply because there are no other options in the engine room.

Speaking to the BBC, pundit Nedum Onuoha was really positive about the Ecuador star and his rising profile:

“You can see Enzo Maresca trusts him [Caicedo] completely and rightly so because he is Chelsea’s engine and when he is performing well you see the best version of them,” the former Man City said.

“I’ve been hugely impressed by him. The position he plays does not get a huge amount of accolades because you don’t score that many goals but there is a real appreciation from those who watch him every week.”

“When players are signed for the sort of figure that Moises Caicedo was, people immediately turn their nose up a little bit.  For Caicedo, he has become one of Chelsea’s most important players. You can see how well they can play when he is performing to his best.”

Chelsea’s season still resting on Caicedo’s fitness

Moises Caicedo of Chelsea warming up. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

If we do manage to make it into the top 5 at the end of this season, Caicedo’s hamstrings should go into the club museum one day. But as we get into the final 15 or so matches of the season, we need to be more careful than ever.

Pray we score a couple early and can limit his action tonight. We’re going to need him at full power when we face Arsenal on Sunday.