Moises Caicedo has humiliated Manchester United once again as they fell to an opening day defeat to Brighton, just 18 months after the Red Devils backed out of a transfer move to sign him.
The midfielder had risen to the top of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's list of targets as he attempted to improve his options in the position. The Ecuadorian had become one of the highest-rated talents in South America during his time with The Independiente del Valle.
His performances attracted the eye of United, with the Manchester Evening News reporting in December 2020 that club chiefs had opted to target a move for him. But just a month later, any hopes of doing a deal for him were dead, with United being the ones to pull the plug.
At the time, the MEN claimed a move had been 'discussed' but the negotiations became a 'clusterf***'. That saw United pull out, with Brighton swooping in on deadline day to complete a £4million move.
That decision has now come back to bite United once again, with Caicedo having already starred in Brighton's 4-0 demolition of the Red Devils at the end of last season. He has started the new season with a vengeance as well, with United getting another chance to see what they missed out on.
Caicedo started in the centre of midfield for the Seagulls at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 2022/2023 campaign. Up against a United midfield containing Bruno Fernandes, Fred and Scott McTominay, it was the Brighton man who stole the show.
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He enjoyed a passing success rate of 85 per cent, won two-thirds of his attempted tackles, making four recoveries and winning all but one of his ground duels. The United midfield by comparison looked totally out of sorts.
Brighton took full advantage of United's disastrous opening 45 minutes, with Pascal Gross scoring twice to put the visitors in full control at half-time. Caicedo's role in that first-half domination did not go unnoticed, with former Manchester City star Micah Richards hailing the 20-year-old.
"Caicedo has been excellent in that midfield. Soon as that ball gets turned over it’s numbers going forward. Trossard has been excellent, look at the timing from Welbeck - he’s been the best player on the pitch. Martinez and Maguire cannot deal with him, they don’t know whether to go short, go long. The pass is wonderful," he told Sky Sports.
United did fight back after the break, with a moment of chaos following a Bruno Fernandes corner leading to Alexis Mac Allister putting the ball into his own net. Despite that recovery, United will still be left feeling what might have been with their ill-fated move for Caicedo.
The Red Devils are still trying to solve their problems in midfield, with a move for Frenkie de Jong this summer stalling. Those are problems that arguably may have been solved had they pushed harder to sign Caicedo 18 months ago.
