Moisés Caicedo

Moisés Isaac Caicedo Corozo (born 2 November 2001) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Chelsea and the Ecuador national team.

Early life
Born in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, the youngest of ten siblings, Caicedo would play football on the scrubland pitches of his hometown, the Mujer Trabajadora neighbourhood, where goals were marked out by piles of stones. As a child he met local football coach Iván Guerra, who would help Caicedo and his family by paying for his football boots, travel expenses and food.

Early career
Caicedo was invited to play his first organised football at the Mujer Trabajadora soccer school by Guerra, and he played there between the ages of five and twelve. The team would often play in games across the Santo Domingo Canton, and Caicedo earned a call-up to a regional select XI. Initially a forward, Caicedo later developed into a midfielder, and joined local side Colorados Jaipadida at the age of thirteen, an affiliate of professional club ESPOLI.

Following impressive performances with Jaipadida, he was invited to train with ESPOLI. However, following ESPOLI's relegation, the tie with Jaipadida was severed, and Caicedo was left without a direct pathway to professional football. Jaipadida director Darwin Castillo sent Caicedo to trial with professional side Mushuc Runa, but after he was unable to pay for food or board, the trial was ended after a week. A later trial with Barcelona in Guayaquil would also prove unsuccessful.

Independiente del Valle
In 2016 one of his brothers brought him to Ecuadorian Serie A side Independiente del Valle for trials, which he successfully passed. Having suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his knee in 2017, he required a number of surgeries, and was out for a total of ten months. Caicedo recovered from the injury, and following his arrival at the club to manage the under-18 side in 2019, Yuri Solano stated that Caicedo's athleticism "set him apart from the rest at that time".

Later in 2019, Caicedo captained the Independiente del Valle youth team to the Copa Mitad del Mundo title, a youth tournament in Spain. Following this experience, he made his debut for the Independiente del Valle first team in a 1–0 Ecuadorian Serie A win over L.D.U. Quito on 1 October of the same year. First team manager at the time, Miguel Ángel Ramírez, would later say that "from the first day he trained with us, he was the best player in the squad".

Such was his importance to the first team squad, Ramirez would have Caicedo flown back from an U-20 Copa Libertadores game in Paraguay to feature in a Serie A match against rivals L.D.U. Quito in 2020 - a game which Independiente del Valle won 3–2 - before returning to the under-20 squad to play in the 2020 U-20 Copa Libertadores final, where he shone in a win over Argentine opposition River Plate.

Throughout his time at Independiente del Valle, Caicedo was mostly deployed as a "number 5", a more defensive midfielder, but would also play at centre-back. Due to the form of Independiente's Argentine midfielder Cristian Pellerano, who also occupied the defensive midfield spot, Caicedo was pushed higher up, operating as a box-to-box midfielder. His performances in this role drew acclaim across the continent, most notably after scoring in a 5–0 win against Brazilian side Flamengo in the 2020 edition of the Copa Libertadores; after stepping over a pass from Beder Caicedo, a dummy which fooled a number of Flamengo defenders, he received the ball from a Gabriel Torres pass, before placing the ball past Flamengo goalkeeper César.

2021: Transfer and first appearances
On 1 February 2021, Caicedo joined English side Brighton & Hove Albion on a four-and-a-half-year deal, for an undisclosed fee. On 10 February 2021, Caicedo made his first appearance in Brighton’s first-team matchday squad in Brighton’s 1–0 away loss against Leicester City in the FA Cup, where he was an unused substitute.

He made his debut for Brighton on 24 August starting in the EFL Cup second round away fixture at Cardiff City where he set up Andi Zeqiri's first Albion goal in the 2–0 win.

2021–2022: Beerschot (loan)
On transfer deadline day of 31 August 2021, Caicedo joined Beerschot of the Belgium top flight on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal on his seventh appearance, a 90+2 minute strike to seal all three points in the 2–0 home win over Genk. On 12 January 2022, due to shortages of central midfielders at Brighton, Caicedo was recalled from his loan and returned to England.

2022–2023: Emergence and breakthrough
Immediately on his return to Sussex, he was included on the bench where he remained for the 1–1 home draw against bitter rivals Crystal Palace on 15 January. He made his first appearance since returning and second overall for the Albion coming on as a substitute in the 3–1 away loss at Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fourth round on 5 February. Caicedo made his Premier League debut on 9 April, starting and assisting Enock Mwepu's goal in the 2–1 away win over Arsenal. He scored his first goal for the Albion on 7 May, opening the scoreline in a 4–0 win over Manchester United, with a 15th minute low 25-yard strike.

Caicedo scored his first goal in the 2022–23 season in his and Brighton's sixth match of the season on 4 September, a 5–2 home win over Leicester City. During January 2023, Caicedo signed a new deal with a football agency company, and on 27 January, with interest coming in from league leaders Arsenal, his agents released a statement announcing he wanted to leave Brighton in an open letter on the player’s Instagram page. The letter stated that, "I am the youngest of 10 siblings from a poor upbringing in Santa Domingo in Ecuador. My dream always to be the most decorated player in the history of Ecuador". Furthermore, Caicedo thanked Brighton fans, saying that they would "always be in my heart." Caicedo was linked with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

On 30 January 2023, it was reported that Brighton had rejected a second Arsenal bid for Caicedo which was worth approximately £70m. Thus, with Brighton having refused to sell the Ecuadorian and with the 21-year-old in contract with the Sussex-based club until the summer of 2025, the club told Caicedo to rest until the end of the transfer window. He returned to training on 1 February and returned to action on the 4th, coming on as a substitute in the 1–0 home win over AFC Bournemouth with Roberto De Zerbi asking fans not to criticise the player. On 3 March 2023, Caicedo signed a new long term contract with Brighton until 2027, with the option for another year. At Brighton's end of season awards Caicedo won both Player of the Season and Player's Player, promising that "When I go back to my flat I will give this award to my mother and father, they are my inspiration."

On 27 June 2023, it was reported that Brighton had rejected a bid from Chelsea worth £80m for Caicedo. On 21 July 2023, de Zerbi stated that he would "start the next season with Caicedo in… [his] head in the first 11." On 10 August 2023, it was reported that Liverpool had agreed a £111m fee with Brighton for Caicedo, which was confirmed by Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp a day later. However, on 12 August 2023, it was reported that Chelsea had agreed to a higher bid for Caicedo, offering a £115m fee to Brighton, inclusive of add-ons.

Chelsea
Caicedo joined Chelsea on 14 August 2023, signing an eight-year contract, with the option of a one-year extension. Although the fee was officially undisclosed, it was reported to be worth a base transfer fee £100 million. This fee could potentially increase to approximately £115 million due to performance related add-ons, a British transfer fee record for a single player, which would surpass the £107 million fee paid by Chelsea for Enzo Fernandez. On 20 August, Caicedo made his debut for his new club, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute in a Premier League match against West Ham United, which saw Caicedo give away a penalty which was converted by Lucas Paquetá, in a 3–1 loss. On 19 May 2024, the final match day of the Premier League season, Caicedo scored his first goal for Chelsea with a shot from 50 yards out, in a 2–1 win over AFC Bournemouth.

Style of play
He usually plays on the left side of Brighton's and Chelsea's midfield pivot and does the holding job. His attributes are more defensive minded than anything going forward. But despite having a more defensive role in the side, Moises generates a lot of energy to be able to be box-to-box and contribute to his side's counter attacks. He can also be a good passer while intercepting attacks along the midfield.

International career
Caicedo debuted for the senior Ecuador national team in a 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying loss to Argentina on 9 October 2020. He scored the opening goal in a 4–2 home win over Uruguay on 13 October 2020 at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado.

On 14 November, Caicedo was named in Ecuador's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup alongside Brighton teammates Pervis Estupiñán and Jeremy Sarmiento. In the last group match tie against Senegal on 29 November, Caicedo scored the equaliser that would've seen Ecuador through to the round of 16. However, Kalidou Koulibaly scored for Senegal three minutes later to regain the lead and send the Senegalese through instead.

International
Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first.

Honours
Independiente U20
 * U-20 Copa Libertadores: 2020

Independiente del Valle
 * Recopa Sudamericana runner-up: 2020

Chelsea
 * EFL Cup runner-up: 2023–24

Individual
 * Brighton & Hove Albion Player of the Season: 2022–23
 * Brighton & Hove Albion Players' Player of the Season: 2022–23