“There is something wrong…” – Enzo Maresca defends risky usage of key player | OneFootball

Moises Caicedo took a while to get going as a Chelsea player, with the huge £115m transfer fee we paid to Brighton weighing heavily on him in his first year.

By the second half of last season he was really getting up to speed however, and he’s been consistently brilliant this season for Enzo Maresca, who spoke about him in glowing terms in the press conference yesterday:

“Since we started he has been doing fantastic in all aspects,” Maresca answered, when asked what he made of Caicedo’s season so far.

“He’s improving a lot, he’s understanding the game, he’s going in different positions and he’s open-minded. He’s a good guy, he’s humble, he works hard, so for a coach he is the perfect player,” the coach continued.

Maresca denies burnout risk for key player

Moises Caicedo greets Enzo Maresca at full time. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

Caicedo is such an important player that we’ve been desperate for Chelsea to recall or buy some players in a similar mold to give him a rest. The Ecuador star is playing so much that we feel he’s at risk of injury, or at the very least burnout. But his manager defended his own usage of the midfielder

“[Yes] he’s playing a lot of minutes, but I think if you compare to other players at Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester City, there are many players that play more than Moi is playing for us. Moi is playing more or less one game a week and at 23 if you cannot play one game a week that means there is something wrong.”

He’s got a point – but given we have no backup if Caicedo gets injured we still think he needs to be treated very carefully. Tonight’s team sheet against his old team will be worth watching.