Moises Caicedo’s move from Brighton to Chelsea in 2023 broke records, with many questioning the hefty £115m fee.
It made the Ecuador international the most expensive player ever signed by a British club at the time, but has since been knocked down to third on that list.
Moves in that price bracket are hit and miss, with the weight of the fee involved often believed to be a factor, but that hasn’t been the case with Caicedo.
Gus Poyet on why Moises Caicedo was worth his outlandish fee
In an ever-changing and sometimes erratic team, for the past few years, Caicedo and, in fairness, his fellow chart-topping signing, Enzo Fernandez, have been constants in the Chelsea midfield.
Rarely is he in the headlines, but his work is often more subtle than the back pages of newspapers are looking for.
🚨💙 Moisés Caicedo when asked about Real Madrid looking for a midfielder: “I want to become a Chelsea legend”.“I’m under contract at Chelsea and my focus is on #CFC and Ecuador”, told @elchiringuitotv. pic.twitter.com/gL5PTcj2vWMarch 24, 2026
“It was a huge amount of money,” former Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet tells FourFourTwo. “Caicedo had been a crucial player for Brighton and, at 21, he had his best years ahead of him. But few people thought he could carry such a heavy price tag.
“When a player costs that much, it can go to their head, but Caicedo isn’t that sort of person. He repaid the faith shown in him in running, in miles, in sweat. That’s what fans love to see, and it helped relieve that pressure.”
It can be easy to pigeonhole players like the 24-year-old as simple, good athletes who are willing to get stuck in, but Poyet insists Caicedo is more than that, which is what justifies the fee.
“Slowly, he began to grow in confidence and add more technical elements to his game,” he added. “His composure when receiving the ball, before finding a progressive pass. He’s gone to a whole new level at Chelsea.
“His positional awareness and desire to give everything is what gives other players like [Enzo] Fernandez and Cole Palmer the confidence to play their own game without fear.”
There’s a sense from Poyet that as good as Caicedo is now, still aged just 24, he’s still improving, and growing in importance for the Blues.
“He’s like an insurance policy,” the former Brighton boss continued. “You appreciate him more when he isn’t in the team.
“I watched Chelsea’s home defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup semis – Caicedo was suspended and they couldn’t press the way they wanted. They were far more open to counters – it was clear he was missing. Hardly anyone mentions the price tag now. He’s a phenomenal talent.”
