Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said that his team isn’t prepared to fill the void created by Moises Caicedo’s $115 million move to Stamford Bridge in the latest Chelsea news.
According to Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi, his team is not “ready” to replace the vacuum created by Moises Caicedo’s summer departure to Chelsea. In August, the Ecuadorian international moved to Stamford Bridge for a then-record-breaking £115 million transfer fee.
The Blues tried to negotiate with the Seagulls for the services of the 21-year-old for many months before finally reaching an agreement for an eight-year contract. Despite a poor first cameo against West Ham, the star has integrated well into Chelsea’s midfield, spending the majority of his first few minutes in a Blues jersey playing with Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher.
De Zerbi’s team has won only one of their past four matches across all competitions, including a 1-0 setback to Chelsea and Caicedo in the Carabao Cup in the middle of the week. Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa, who scored three goals and provided two assists in their 6-1 victory over Brighton over the weekend, also destroyed them.
It appears that the pairing of former Blue Billy Gilmour and youngster Jack Hinshelwood won’t be the solution while De Zerbi continues to experiment with his midfield to reclaim the lost physicality and dynamic play style Caicedo offers. Of course, Brighton was going to add players to try to “recreate” Caicedo for such a huge fee.
To try and offset losing the 21-year-old, late summer additions James Milner, Mo Dahoud, and Carlos Baleba were all made. However, with Milner injured, Dahoud sitting on the bench against Villa, and Baleba completely absent from the squad, it appears that De Zerbi may have to wait longer than he would like.
The Seagulls manager was brutally honest when he stated that several of his team’s stars lack the necessary athletic skills after their lopsided loss to Villa.
In his post-game press conference, he added, “Listen, we have to talk honestly. We are conceding lots. “We lost Caicedo, and we lost extremely significant qualities.
Because only Baleba can play with the same attributes as Caicedo, we are playing differently. Baleba is not yet prepared. We are not prepared for daily competition and games.
“Physical energy is insufficient for football; you must be prepared to give your all and greatest mental effort. If we lose every tackle, duel, and second ball, the game will be lost in this manner.
“But I believe in my players because I have a lot of faith in the individuals in my locker room. We are hurting greatly as a result of this loss, but things like this may happen if you are not prepared and you don’t react quickly.
“We must develop. We are struggling; it’s a terrible day, but it can also be one of the most significant because we want to get to this point.
