Frank Leboeuf claims “exceptional” Chelsea star is now worth “double” what Blues paid | OneFootball

Former Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf believes Moises Caicedo is now worth double what the Blues paid back in 2023.

Chelsea forked out what was a then British record of £115m to sign the Ecuadorian from Brighton, which was surpassed by Liverpool this summer.

Caicedo initially struggled to settle in at Chelsea, but the transfer fee now isn’t mentioned given how good he’s been.

Frank Leboeuf praises Moises Caicedo

Caicedo was named as Chelsea’s Player of the Season last season, and he’s arguably the club’s most important player.

The Ecuador international started all 38 league games last season, and has started every game this campaign other than the Carabao Cup tie against Lincoln.

Caicedo scored an absolutely brilliant goal against Liverpool, and has again been in superb form at the start of this campaign.

Caicedo has been in superb form this season. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Frank Lampard has shared his views on comparison’s to Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante, and Leboeuf thinks the transfer fee is now looking like a bargain.

“Remember the first season, they paid £100million and we were wondering, is he worth it? But now he is worth more than that, double that,” he told ESPN.

“Because that guy gives you such business in the middle of the park, that for the others, it makes things simpler. It’s easier.

“We go back to the previous generation of defensive midfielder, Wisey [Dennis Wise], Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante, those fantastic players that give their lives every game.

“We used to call them water carriers, they were in the shade of the others. They were the bad people destroying everything, David Batty, the fantastic Roy Keane.

“But those players are completely essential to a team and they are the fixed wall to make sure the team is going to work and Caicedo is showing that to the world.

“What we saw against Liverpool, it was absolutely exceptional.”

Chelsea really strong in midfield

As well as Caicedo, Chelsea also boast Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia amongst their midfield ranks, and arguably the Blues have one of the best midfields in the league.

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Chelsea also have youngsters Andrey Santos and Dario Essugo as further options, although the duo are both currently injured.

The return of Romeo Lavia is a huge plus for Chelsea, and with the games coming thick fast, Enzo Maresca is going to need as many options as possible available to him.