Barcelona legend Carles Puyol backs Moises Caicedo to do ‘important things’ for Chelsea

Barcelona legend Carles Puyol says Moises Caicedo has the ‘quality and talent’ to do ‘important things’ for Chelsea.

The Ecuador midfielder has endured an underwhelming first season at Stamford Bridge following a staggering £115m move from Brighton last summer.

Caicedo only spent two seasons with the Seagulls but quickly established himself as one of the best holding midfielders in the Premier League, attracting interest from Liverpool as well as Chelsea.

The 22-year-old has flattered to deceive in a largely dysfunctional Chelsea team but produced one of his best performances of the season in Monday’s 6-0 victory over Everton.

‘He’s a great player,’ former Barcelona and Spain defender Puyol told Ecuadorian outlet El Universo when asked for his thoughts on Caicedo.

‘I think he has the necessary quality, the necessary talent to be able to do important things. But the most important thing is that he’s in a great team where he can grow a lot.’

Both Caicedo and Chelsea will now hope to kick-start Mauricio Pochettino’s reign at Stamford Bridge and climb further up the Premier League table while competing for the FA Cup.

Pochettino’s side reached the League Cup final earlier in the year but left Wembley disappointed after Virgil van Dijk scored an injury-time winner for Liverpool.

Chelsea return to Wembley this weekend for a FA Cup semi-final clash with Premier League champions and Champions League holders Manchester City.

While Chelsea thumped Everton 6-0 last time out – with Cole Palmer scoring four goals and a perfect hat-trick – Man City are also in fine form, beating Luton Town 5-1 at the weekend.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.