Chelsea are one of the most interesting teams in the Premier League at the moment, as their strategy is markedly different from that of their rivals in the traditional ‘big six.’
The decision to spend enormous sums of money on highly-rated but relatively unproven youngsters is an incredibly high-risk move, and while it might still come good in the long term, it’s not led to pleasant viewing for the fans this season.
The likes of Enzo Fernández, Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo all arrived at the club with hefty price tags, and aside from Palmer, it would be hard to argue that any of them have lived up to their potential as of yet.
This situation is made all the more puzzling by the club’s decision to sell so many of their talented youngsters in the past, such as Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marc Guehi.
However, there is one player the club released as a youngster that currently stands out as the worst decision of them all, especially as he’s outperforming Caicedo this season and is now worth more.
Declan Rice’s post-Chelsea career
Unsurprisingly, the player in question is former West Ham United captain and current Arsenal star Declan Rice.
The England international started his footballing journey with the west Londoners as a young boy, but at age 14, he was surprised with the news that his services were no longer wanted by the Blues, which Rice described as “extremely tough” to deal with as a youngster.
However, he was soon a part of West Ham’s academy, and after working his way through the youth sides, he made his Premier League debut at 18 years old on 21 May 2017, against Burnley.
Just over three years later, with Mark Noble injured, David Moyes gave Rice the captain’s armband in a league game for the first time, and he would wear it in 21 games the following season.
The Kingston upon Thames-born “controller”, as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, became the leading figure for the Irons as time went on, and by the time he finally left, he had made 245 appearances for the first team and helped them lift the Europa Conference League, leaving as a bonafide legend – even if some fans weren’t best pleased with his choice of destination.
How Declan Rice compares to Moises Caicedo this season
When a player moves for as much money as Rice did in the summer – £105m – there is always a chance that they’ll fail to live up to the expectations placed upon them, or worse still, flop altogether.
However, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would describe the 24-year-old’s move to the Gunners as anything other than a success, as in his 33 appearances so far this season, he has been immense in his defensive duties, and he has chipped in with four goals and five assists to boot.
In comparison, Caicedo, who cost around £115m, has been anonymous in attack as he has failed to score a single goal and has provided just a single assist in his 30 appearances for the Blues.
However, with neither player being signed for their attacking output, how do their underlying numbers compare this season? Does the Ecuadorian international come out on top regarding passing or defending?
Well, unfortunately for Mauricio Pochettino, his record-breaking signing comes out on top in just one metric, passing accuracy, and even then, it’s by just 0.9%, which is likely due to his tendency to make fewer passes per game.
Declan Rice vs Moises Caicedo | ||
|---|---|---|
Stats per 90 | Rice | Caicedo |
Progressive Passes | 8.91 | 5.16 |
Progressive Carries | 1.97 | 0.48 |
Passing Accuracy | 90.4% | 91.3% |
Shot-Creating Actions | 2.36 | 1.89 |
Interceptions | 1.48 | 0.91 |
Tackles + Interceptions | 3.71 | 3.28 |
Clearances | 1.70 | 1.24 |
Miscontrols | 0.79 | 1.29 |
Dispossessed | 0.61 | 0.75 |
Aerial Duels Won | 1.14 | 1.08 |
All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Premier League Season | ||
In contrast, Arsenal’s “dominator”, as Kulig described him, comes out on top in every other relevant metric, including progressive passes and carries, shot-creating actions, interceptions + tackles, clearances and aerial duels and he is less likely to miscontrol the ball or be dispossessed as well.
Rice’s superior underlying numbers are also represented in his valuation, as CIES Football Observatory values the Englishman at €100m, or about £86m. In comparison, they value Caicedo at just €60m, which is about £51m – or about £64m less than what he cost the club.
Related
Chelsea must regret selling £58m flop who’s now outscoring Cole Palmer
The experienced forward has been on fire this season.
Ultimately, the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace may still come good for the Blues, but as things stand, it’s hard to disagree with former Blues star Frank Lebouef, who described the club’s decision to release the Englishman all those years ago as a “huge, huge mistake.”
