MASTERPLAN FOR CHELSEA: Gary Neville agree with Mauricio Pochettino on Moises Caicedo future

Masterplan For Chelsea: Gary Neville agree with Mauricio Pochettino on Moises Caicedo future

Gary Neville has echoed Chelseaj manager Mauricio Pochettino with his belief that Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez could become one of the best midfield partnerships on the continent.

The 21-year-old arrived from Brighton for a British record transfer fee of £115m earleir this month but got off to the worst possible start after giving away a penalty in Chelsea’s 3-1 loss to West Ham over the weekend.

But the Ecuadorian international made his full Chelsea debut against Luton after positive reinforcement from Pochettino last week when he said: “We took the decision that we would play with him in the last 30 minutes because he is ready to play 30 minutes but maybe he wasn’t ready to play from the beginning, but 30 minutes yes.

“He did well, some very positive things. Okay, in the last minute we concede a goal but we cannot say nothing wrong. It was positive but we [all] feel disappointed because we deserve more. But in the end we didn’t get the result we wanted.”

But Neville was adamant that Caicedo will come good for the Blues, but that he might need some time to adjust from Roberto De Zerbi’s system at his old club compared to the Argentinian’s at Stamford Bridge.

“I think it’ll take time because when he came to Brighton,” he claimed on Sky Sports. “They are so fluid and absolutely sensational, they have such a unique way of playing and he fitted into that player.

“He is the right type, he can get about the pitch, he can tackle, he can fill in areas, obviously he is an excellent player and many clubs wanted him, but I don’t think Chelsea as a project isn’t as stable as what (Roberto) De Zerbi’s Brighton is – it’s unbelievable what they do.

“I do think there will be problems along the way, but with Mauricio Pochettino’s style of play, he should become a brilliant partner for Enzo Fernandez – as a pair, they could be one of the best in Europe if they get it right.”

Jamie Carragher then chimed in, claiming that he would’ve loved to see Caicedo at his former club, Liverpool, but can understand why the 21-year-old signed for the Blues.

“I think he’s a fantastic player,” Carragher said. “He’s the right age, whichever club had him you felt they were going to have him as a young player, but he’s only going to improve and you are going to get him for his peak years, but that’s Chelsea’s way because they sign players on eight or nine year contracts.

“With Caicedo, I can actually see why he picked Chelsea over Liverpool because Chelsea had been chasing him for three months and it was almost like Liverpool panicked maybe because of the situation with (Romeo) Lavia and they just went for Caicedo at the last minute.

“He is a young lad, probably got his head around playing for Chelsea for a couple of months, then all of a sudden he’s involved in this tug of war between two football clubs.

“I think he told Jurgen Klopp straight away he wanted to go to Chelsea, but with the Lavia one, I am a bit surprised because with (Enzo) Fernandez and Caicedo ahead of him, how difficult it will be to get into the team at this stage.”