Speculation linking N'Golo Kante with a big-money move to Saudi Arabia is gathering pace, meaning Chelsea will likely have to dip into the transfer market to sign a replacement.
Kante only started six games for the Blues last season, though that perhaps plays a small part in explaining just why they endured such a terrible campaign that saw them finish 12th in the Premier League.
Chelsea could do with bringing in a player with similar attributes to Kante, who has made playing in holding midfield sexy again across his eight seasons in the Premier League.
The Blues appear to be honing in on exactly that type of player, with Football Transfers reporting that they are pushing very hard to beat London rivals Arsenal to the signing of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo.
It is claimed that Arsenal are stalling on handing over the £70m Brighton are after for Caicedo, possibly allowing Chelsea to pounce for the midfielder – much like they did with Mykhailo Mudryk in January.
Could Caicedo be an upgrade on Kante?
Chelsea and Arsenal's interest in Caicedo is longstanding, with the 21-year-old handing in a transfer request at Brighton in January in an attempt to force through a move, only to then backtrack and instead pen a new contract.
That ensures the ball is very much in Albion's court, even more so after bringing in potentially up to £55m from the sale of Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool last week.
But in the current market, £70m seems like good value for a player who has shown promise right from his early years. Indeed, South American football expert Tim Vickery was spot on when, prior to signing for Brighton, he described Caicedo as a "terrific player" with the potential to keep improving.
As pointed out by Vickery, Caicedo took no time at all to settle at Independiente del Valle as a teenager, and likewise with Ecuador, for whom he now has 30 caps at the age of 21.
The same has been true of his first full season at Brighton in the Premier League. The Ecuadorian was second only to Fulham's Joao Palhinha (147) in terms of tackles (100) last season, which told with the ten yellow cards he received – one of eight players to hit double figures for bookings.
It would be unfair to compare Caicedo's figures to those of Kante from last season given the latter's lack of action, but even in 2021-22, when playing 30 times, Kante only registered 59 tackles.
Kante recorded 1.57 interceptions per 90 minutes in the Premier League that same season, as per FBref, which Caicedo marginally bettered last season with 1.60.
There was little between the players in those respective campaigns in terms of average touches per 90 minutes (74.6 for Caicedo compared to 78.4 for Kante), but the Brighton player – understandably – was much stronger than Kante when it comes to aerial duels won (64.9% v 50%).
The role of a defensive midfielder is about a lot more than simply breaking up play, though – it is also about keeping the ball ticking along and getting attacks going from deep.
That is an area Caicedo particularly thrived, as highlighted by his 64.54 passes completed per 90 minutes over the past 12 months, ranking him in the top 6% among his positional peers. Kante, for comparison, has averaged a far smaller number of 55.03.
Caicedo also comes out on top in terms of the percentage of short passes completed (92.5 v 90.6 for Kante), medium passes (90.5 v 88.2) and long passes (79.2 v 70.5). Whether it is knocking the ball to a team-mate a few yards away, or a pass of more than 30 yards, Caicedo is among the best.
While there are similarities and differences between the pair, Caicedo undoubtedly seems to be the newer breed of midfielder who is capable of doing many different aspects.
Indeed, when taking his statistical profile into account, FBref ranks Declan Rice as the player fourth most like Caicedo. The pair were very alike last season in terms of pass completion per 90 minutes (86.5 and 88.5 respectively) and shot-creating actions (2.75 v 2.52) , while both won 37 aerial duels.
With Rice three years older and valued at around £30m more, Chelsea will be getting value for money in Caicedo should they get there ahead of their rivals.
