- Chelsea eased to a 3-0 win over West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday
- The performance of one Blues midfielder was singled out for praise by Mikel
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Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has predicted a current Blues star will one day become club captain, after comparing his performance against West Ham to club legend N’Golo Kante.
Chelsea stormed to a 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday to continue a bright start to the season under new boss Enzo Maresca.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice in the first half, before Cole Palmer added Chelsea’s third goal after the break at the London Stadium.
The performance Moises Caicedo caught the eye of Mikel, who made 372 appearances for Chelsea during an 11-year spell at the club.
Caicedo, who endured a nightmare debut the same ground last year, impressed in the heart of the Chelsea midfield.
Moises Caicedo’s performance against West Ham drew praised from a former Chelsea star
John Obi Mikel claimed Caicedo was ‘everywhere’ as the Blues cruised to a 3-0 victory
Mikel suggested Caicedo’s performance was similar to displays of former star N’Golo Kante
Mikel has suggested the 22-year-old is beginning to show the form which convinced the Blues to spend a British record £115million to sign the midfielder from Brighton.
‘We’ve talked about Moises Caicedo and how much we thought, of course, he didn’t start his Chelsea career really well and a few games into his Chelsea career, there were loads of mistakes,’ Mikel said on his The Obi One Podcast.
‘Everyone was thinking, “Why did we pay so much money for this guy?” Now we can see those performances that he was performing at Brighton and stuff like that so, absolutely fantastic player.
‘Everywhere on Saturday. Not just breaking up play, trying to link-up play as well, passing, everything.
‘Now you can feel this is the Moises Caicedo that we all know and also when you watch him, when you look at him right now, you can see that there’s a bit of confidence there.
‘There’s a bit of, “Ok, now I’m playing for Chelsea Football Club, this is my team.” With the performances, with the way he behaves on the pitch, there is no sort of [ego].
‘He’s absolutely fantastic, I watched him there, he was everywhere. It’s a bit like a Kante kind of performance, all credit to Moises and also for the manager to give him such confidence and to make sure that he believes in him.
‘I think he maybe will go on to captain the team.’
Caicedo has played an important role in Chelsea’s strong start to the Premier League season
Caicedo had claimed the assist for Chelsea’s second goal at the London Stadium, with the Ecuadorian midfielder playing through Jackson to score.
The 22-year-old has been part of the Blues strong start to the campaign, with Maresca’s side having won all three of their Premier League away matches.
Chelsea’s sole defeat in the opening five matches of the season came against Man City, with the champions earning a 2-0 win on the opening weekend.
The Blues have responded impressively and currently lie fifth in the Premier League table.