"I don't know if £50 million should include boots, maybe that's just enough money to buy laces," said Brighton's CEO after Chelsea were interested in Kecedo.
In order to be able to get the opportunity to join the giants, Caicedo even issued an open letter expressing his willingness to leave the team, and may even miss training. As Arsenal get closer to him, many will wonder if Caicedo, who has played in the Premier League for less than a year, is really worth more than £60 million in transfer fees?
01. The best work of the cradle of local talent: conquer the 4 giants of the Premier League in 9 months
a. From Valley Independient: He is a fan of Chelsea's iron waist
Coming from a poor family of 10 children, Caicedo grew up in Ecuador's Independiente de la Valle academy.
Although the team only entered the country's top league in 2009, it has been on the rise in recent years, beating Sao Paulo to win the Copa Sudamericana.
In this World Cup, there have also been 6 Ecuadorian starters, from the youth training of this team, Caicedo is also the best of them.
Although Caicedo followed Arsenal on social media, there were even quite a few who considered him a Gunners fan.
However, many sources pointed out that when Caicedo was in Ecuador, he really wore the Chelsea shirt.
Perhaps he is a fan of the French iron waist, and has a heartfelt yearning and love for the seniors in the same position on the court.
On the whole, Caicedo is eager to join a big team, and as for whether it is Chelsea or Arsenal, there may not be so many differences.
b. Nine months in the Premier League: already favoured by four giants
Brighton's insight brought him from Ecuador to Europe. However, at the age of 19, he had to wait for opportunities in the reserve team and was later loaned out to the Belgian league.
It was not until April 2022 that Caicedo, who made his Premier League debut, quickly became famous. After scoring his first goal in a 4-0 league win over Manchester United last season, he was favoured by the Reds.
Liverpool, who are hungry for a change in midfield, have also been eyeing Kecedo for a long time.
After the list price was raised to more than £50 million, Klopp's side had to opt out.
In order to be able to enter the big teams, Caicedo himself has made a lot of efforts. From slapping Brighton at the beginning to writing open letters, he may even opt out of training.
Chelsea offered him £55 million, and Arsenal offered 60 million in sincerity, but Brighton's initial asking price was £75 million, and I don't know if it will eventually lead to a price reduction because of Caicedo's efforts.
02. More than just a defensive master: He also has value in advancing and passing
a. Good at splitting balls into the wings: very much in line with Arsenal's needs
Strictly speaking, Caicedo has only played nine months in the Premier League. Despite their impressive performance at the World Cup, the current price tag is somewhat crazy considering that the Seagulls were originally offered for 5 million euros.
Arsenal is the most sincere of all buyers, which is also related to the technical characteristics of Caicedo, which is more in line with Arsenal's system. Even Brighton's overall tactics and rhythm fit Arsenal, which is one of the reasons they bought Trossard before.
Caicedo's defense is characterized by quick movement and quick feet, as well as his ability to make long passes to the sides and launch counterattacks on the spot.
He was quick when passing the ball, which helped Brighton counter-attack with speed. Considering that Arsenal are currently flying with both Martinelli and Saka wings, Caicedo's characteristics can be further amplified when they come to the Gunners.
Caicedo is not a playmaker in the attack, but he moves the ball quickly and with high quality to both sides.
The arc is flat, the ball speed is not slow, and once it is over the top, it will fall quickly, which is very uncomfortable for defenders to handle.
Against Everton, he assisted Kaoru Mikasa's goal, a prime example.
Caicedo's movements are quite fast, his insight into space is good, his passing is not known for his accuracy, and the scoring of open positions is an advantage.
Let's take a look at the handling of the ball this time, when Liverpool pressed high to Brighton's bottom line, Kecedo did not drag the mud after winning the ball, this diagonal transfer to find Kaoru Mikasa, whether it is ball speed, arc or landing point is very beautiful.
Many of his transfer balls are characterized by fast and flat arcs, and opponents seem to be expected to intercept, but they are just a little out of reach, but it is conducive to teammates' speed.
b. Not afraid of pressing high: good at passing the ball
As can be seen from the statistics against Liverpool, Caicedo has succeeded in all five long passes and has a high percentage of conversion into counter-attacks.
However, his overall passing success rate is only 89%, and he has lost possession 11 times. Caicedo is characterized by a quick passing action and good sense of moving the ball, but once he cannot handle the ball in the first place, he lacks the ability to pause and observe and organize after a few more steps.
Brighton's style of play is very particular about the fluidity of passing and off-ball reception, and Caicedo will complete a large number of seemingly inconspicuous but relatively bright passes.
This time it was he who passed to his team-mates in the centre circle and Arsenal would also like this trait.
Look at this time, Caicedo's continuous defensive moves, the first time interfered with the pass, the second directly cut off the ball at his feet.
The subsequent direct plug to find striker Trossard, pay attention to a fast word. In addition to splitting the ball to the two wings, Caicedo's threatening ball in the middle will be relatively flat.
In this wave of counter-attacking advances, Caicedo, who held the ball for too long, was a little hesitant. Before pushing him down, Ferguson finished the shot.
It is worth mentioning that Caicedo's strength and explosiveness are not very good, and once there are too many physical confrontations, he will also suffer losses.
03. The ball grabbing machine likes to pass the ball with one kick: it is conducive to the implementation of high pressing tactics
a. Pure ball grabbing machine has average effect: there is still a disadvantage in strength
From the position of the pitch, Caicedo, who can play at the back and central midfield, is known for his flexibility and flexibility.
Agile and fast, but not superior in strength. In the Premier League, there's not much he can do if the opponent rushes up.
Just like this time breaking De Bruyne, it is the embodiment of Caicedo's fast movement.
As soon as the opponent had the ball, he moved quickly and accurately with his feet, leaving the Belgian helpless.
Comparing the defense this time, after De Bruyne took speed and rushed, it was difficult for Kecedo to break the ball. Even if you even climb with a rolling belt, you can't keep up with De Bruyne in the end.
After the goalkeeper came to the rescue, Kecedo competed for the second drop point, but the Manchester City player sprinted into the box, he tried to stretch his foot and break the ball unsuccessfully, and all he could do was this, and he needed his teammates to help complete the defense.
b. Suitable high pressing: A kick is the highlight
As a top 10 player in the Premier League (2.9) per game, with 1.4 interceptions, the numbers are beautiful.
But it would be very unwise to expect Kecedo to sweep up alone, and he needs to get closer to his powerful teammates, or a group of small fast spirits to complement each other.
Caicedo's defensive footing is more often a distraction and destruction, and broken balls are often not clean.
It is worth mentioning that Caicedo is actually quite suitable for pressing high, especially after the ball is broken, he often plays a bullet.
This kind of one-shot characteristic should also suit Arsenal's needs.
Looking at this shot again, Thiago Silva made a pass error at the back, and Kecedo's header intercepted it directly to Trosard.
Unfortunately, the latter picked a pass past the goalkeeper, but was made up by Thiago Silva on the goal line.
Conclusion:
Caicedo is a player who can magnify his own characteristics under a well-established system. But in terms of hard power, the price of £60 million is too high.
However, given his system bonus to Arsenal, if he buys Caicedo, perhaps the Gunners will be a big step closer to winning the Premier League. From this point of view, without a sharper scouting eye and room for trial and error, it seems reasonable to spend a lot of money.