John Obi Mikel makes bold prediction about Chelsea star becoming captain after comparing him to a club legend
- Chelsea beat West Ham comfortably 3-0 at the London Stadium on Saturday
- The performance of a Blues midfielder was praised by Mikel
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Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has predicted that a current Blues star would one day become club captain, comparing his performance against West Ham to that of club legend N’Golo Kante.
Chelsea beat West Ham 3-0 on Saturday, continuing their strong start to the season under new manager Enzo Maresca.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice in the first half before Cole Palmer added Chelsea’s third after the break at the London Stadium.
Moises Caicedo’s performances caught the attention of Mikel, who played 372 games during his 11-year spell at Chelsea.
Caicedo, who suffered a nightmare on his debut on the same pitch last year, impressed in Chelsea’s midfield.
Moises Caicedo’s performance against West Ham has been praised by a former Chelsea star
John Obi Mikel claimed Caicedo was ‘everywhere’ as the Blues won 3-0
Mikel suggested that Caicedo’s performance was similar to the performances of former star player N’Golo Kante
Mikel suggested the 22-year-old is starting to show the form that convinced the Blues to spend a British record fee of £115million to sign the midfielder from Brighton.
“We talked about Moises Caicedo and how we felt he didn’t start his career at Chelsea that well and that after a few games at Chelsea he made a lot of mistakes,” Mikel said on his The Obi One Podcast.
‘Everyone thought, “Why did we pay so much money for this guy?” Now we can see the performances he put in at Brighton and things like that, a really fantastic player.
‘Everywhere on Saturday. Not just breaking up the game, also trying to connect the game, passing, everything.
‘Now you feel that this is the Moises Caicedo that we all know. And when you look at him, when you look at him now, you see that he exudes a bit of self-confidence.
‘There’s a bit of, “Okay, now I’m playing for Chelsea Football Club, this is my team.” With the performances, with the way he’s been on the pitch, there’s no kind of [ego].
‘He’s absolutely fantastic, I’ve seen him there, he’s everywhere. It’s a bit of a Kante-esque performance, credit to Moises and also to the manager for giving him so much confidence and making him believe in him.
“I think he might become captain of the team.”
Caicedo has played a key role in Chelsea’s strong start to the Premier League season
Caicedo provided the assist for Chelsea’s second goal at the London Stadium, with the Ecuadorian midfielder scoring through Jackson.
The 22-year-old has been part of a strong start to the season for the Blues, with Maresca’s side winning all three of their away games in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s only defeat in the first five games of the season came against Man City, with the champions winning 2-0 on the opening weekend.
The Blues have responded impressively and currently sit fifth in the Premier League table.