The Premier League's top defensive midfielder! Caicedo starts; Chelsea's Premier League win rate is 52%, but only 25% when he doesn't start.

Who is currently the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League? Most fans would say Caicedo. This week featured a double round of Premier League matches, and in the 14th round, with Caicedo suspended for three games due to a red card, Chelsea lost 1-3 away to newly promoted Leeds United, who are fighting relegation, marking the biggest upset of the round.

According to well-known data agency Squawka, in Premier League matches where Caicedo did not start for Chelsea,they have only won 2 out of 8 games, a win rate of just 25%.Conversely, in Premier League matches where Caicedo started for Chelsea,they secured 43 wins out of 82 games, boasting a high win rate of 52%.The data is cold and hard, but the message is clear and powerful: Caicedo is Chelsea’s most crucial player, bar none.

Aside from being expensive, Caicedo is perfect in every other way. Chelsea signed him from Brighton in the 2023 summer transfer window for a record fee of €116 million, outbidding Liverpool. To date, he has played 116 games for the Blues across all competitions, scoring 7 goals and providing 11 assists, and last season helped the team win the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup.

Currently valued at €100 million, Caicedo is a priceless player sought after by top clubs across the Big Five leagues. This season, he has been effective both offensively and defensively, scoring 3 goals and assisting 1 in 12 Premier League games, and netting 1 goal in 5 Champions League appearances, which is highly efficient for a defensive midfielder.