£26m Chelsea player ranked as more impactful this season than Moises Caicedo

There’s several Chelsea stars so far this season that have performed somewhere close to their best, including midfield maestro Moises Caicedo.

It’s been a tough couple of years for Blues supporters at Stamford Bridge watching some turbulent times, but things look a lot more optimistic now Enzo Maresca is in the manager’s dugout.

A number of players in the Chelsea squad have clicked into gear this year to start playing some eye-catching football. As a result, the team currently sits third in the Premier League table.

Moises Caicedo, 23, is a central midfielder puling the strings in the centre of the park for his side. In fact, Chelsea insiders claim Maresca views Caicedo as ‘undroppable’ right now.

Malo Gusto helps Moises Caicedo of Chelsea to his feet during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City FC at Stamford Bridge...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Malo Gusto ranked as more impactful than Moises Caicedo

The CIES Football Observatory has shared via X their data for Chelsea’s five most impactful players this season.

There’s some obvious inclusions for some of the top Blues stars, although the inclusion of Malo Gusto in the second spot may surprise some. In fact, the versatile defender is rated even higher than third-place Caicedo.

Gusto has been an important player for Chelsea this campaign, especially with club captain Reece James missing so many matches in recent months. It’s just a bit of a shock to see the £26m full-back (Sky Sports) in second position during the list above.

Gusto is in line for a contract offer from Chelsea, which will include a significant pay rise on his current deal.

The 21-year-old Frenchman is so consistent in the Blues defence, whether that’s in his preferred right-back position or when he’s covering at left-back. In Maresca’s system, he’s been spending a lot of time higher up the pitch in attacking positions when the team is in possession.

Malo Gusto this season

The eye test certainly wouldn’t suggest that Gusto has been more important to Chelsea than Caicedo in this 2024/25 season. However, the statistics above say only Cole Palmer has made a bigger impact at Stamford Bridge in the last few months.

In fairness, Gusto rarely lets the Blues down when he’s on the football pitch.

Games played Started Pass accuracy % Tackles won % Duels won % Chances created Recoveries Yellow cards Average rating
9 9 87.3% 68.4% 43.5% 5 35 2 6.72
Malo Gusto in the 2024/25 Premier League season via Fotmob

Gary Cahill picked out Chelsea’s Gusto in pre-season as someone that impressed him in Maresca’s team. He’s certainly managed to take that into this year and is growing in stature.



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