Moises Caicedo: The perfect CM for Man Utd
The player who could revolutionize United’s midfield
I feel that he is a player that needs no introduction and no explanation when it comes to his qualities, of which, there are several.
Caicedo is Brighton’s Casemiro. That’s the biggest compliment I can pay him. Like Casemiro, Moises’ main position is CDM but can also play as CM, next to the holding midfielder.
This is why I think he will be the perfect player for that United midfield. He can play next to Casemiro to provide the energy and tenacity like Fred does but also has decent quality on the ball, which we know is necessary when playing for a side like Brighton.
Plus, if ever ten Hag needs to rest Casemiro, he gets injured or inevitably suspended, then Caicedo can do that holding role with no issues.
Style of play
He usually plays on the left side of Brighton’s midfield pivot and does the holding job. His attributes are more defensive minded than anything going forward.
But despite having a more defenisive 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. The fact that he plays on the left side suits United perfectly because Casemiro mainly plays on the right of our pivot. This will provide balance as Moises is more comfortable at playing on the left.
Whenever the left full-back is up in attack, Caicedo occupies a more defensive position on that side to cover that position left vacant by the FB. He is also very good at breaking up the play in opposition transitions.
Like Casemiro, Caicedo is a player who loves a tackle and has that strong sense of fight in his play. This works really well both for attacks and when defending, as seen with Casemiro.
On the ball, he’s pretty good as well. In a side like Brighton’s where one needs to be good in possession, the fact that he’s a mainstay in the side despite his abilities suggesting he’s not a ‘baller’, shows that Moises is more than capable of holding his own in possession. This season, he has an 88.5% pass completion rate (ranking him in the 94th percentile) out of 64.54 passes attempted per 90 (via FBREF). That is pretty damn accurate.
His defensive stats are really impressive as well. He makes 2.87 tackles per 90, 1.61 interceptions per 90 and wins 64% of his aerial duels.
He really is quite the all rounder in that midfield position.
Even when attacking, his ability to carry the ball is something that allows him to standout. With this carrying ability, he can break the lines of opposition defenses with his driving runs and is more than capable of passing through the lines as well.
Long-passing is another skill Caicedo can bring to the table. He can be used to switch play, break the lines or pass inside the channels to one of his teammates making the run in behind. This shows that he has brilliant understanding of knowing exactly where his teammates will be. This is akin to something that Eriksen does so well for us.
But defending is where he truly shines. He can quickly recover his position when having to defend in transitions. Caicedo is also the man who holds up the opposition attacks to allow his teammates to get back into position, and he’s used to break up play when his side are under attack. He screens his back line making things that much tighter for oppositions to have to break down reducing the amount of chances they have to play through the lines.
Moises is amazing when it comes to pressing too. This is key in winning back the ball and is something that Caicedo likes to do high up the pitch. We know that ten Hag will prefer his side to play with a high press and someone like Caicedo can do this job perfectly.
When he breaks up the play, that ability on the ball allows him to get his side going in attack. His long-passing comes into play here as well. While he’s not the tallest of midfielders at 178cm, Moises is still decent in the air winning 64% of his aerial duels.
Even his positioning is excellent. He gets himself into a shape which allows him to be able to cover most passing lanes. The Ecuadorean also knows exactly when to press the opposition forcing them to move away from goal.
Fun fact, his first goal for Brighton was in that 4–0 win over us late in the 21/22 season.
Weaknesses
None.
It’s actually very hard to find things wrong in his game. Perhaps a little sloppiness in possession at times and losing a little focus and due to his love for the tackle, can be ill-disciplined. Moises has picked up 10 yellow cards this season in the PL, joint third in the league.
Other than that, he has everything.
Here’s a look at how he measures up to our own number 6:
Stats via FBREF in the last 365 days
Info on Caicedo via THEMASTERMINDSITE
Final Thoughts
Such an amazing all round midfielder, and with the stats to back it up. For an Erik ten Hag midfield and the way he likes to play, Moises Caicedo ticks all the boxes. Whether Erik chooses to play him next to Casemiro or instead of him, the Brighton man is definitely more than capable of doing whatever the manager asks of him.
Even though he looks more likely to go to Arsenal, still interesting to see what he could do to transform an area of the pitch where we need big reinforcements.
Do you think Moises suits us well or should we be looking at another player?
#MUFC #GGMU #CAICEDO #ERIKTENHAG #CMONUNITED #GLAZERSOUT
