Who could Brighton sign to replace Moises Caicedo if he leaves?
By Evan Curnew
It’s hard to say whether or not Moises Caicedo will leave Brighton yet. The club has made it clear they need a replacement should he leave. As The Top Flight recently reported, manager Roberto De Zerbi said in a press conference that Brighton would need to bring in a “great player” to replace Moises Caicedo.
The Seagulls have Europa League football this upcoming season, and they cannot gamble on someone in such an important position in the midfield. While things fluctuate in-game, De Zerbi typically places with a double pivot, with one more offensive-minded midfield and one defensive-minded midfielder. Moises Caicedo was typically one of the players in the pivot, while Pascal Gross and Alexis Mac Allister operated the other spot after Adam Lallana’s injury.
With Alexis Mac Allister off to Liverpool, the fight for his spot will be between incoming Mahmoud Dahoud and Billy Gilmour. De Zerbi also has decisions to make with midfielders Steven Alzate and Yasin Ayari. James Milner cannot be forgotten about either but at 37; he is unlikely to be a regular starter.
Brighton’s option to replace Moises Caicedo
So what players could Brighton sign that would make sense as a Moises Caicedo replacement? It’ll be difficult to replicate his exact abilities with other players, but the club can make an excellent effort to target ball-playing defensive midfielders.
[1] Tyler Adams – Leeds United (USA)
Perhaps one of the more Premier League-ready and realistic options will be Tyler Adams. While in all, it was not a great experience for Adams to be relegated to Leeds, he was able to showcase his search-and-destroy style of play.
Looking at an FBRef scouting report between Moises Caicedo and Tyler Adams, the USMNT midfielder is more defensively inclined, while Caicedo has better passing. Both of their passes attempted and completed, are impressive for defensive midfielders who also get stuck in and make plenty of tackles. In fact, Tyler Adams is in the 99th percentile of tackles made among midfielders tracked. His block and interception percentiles are also extremely strong. Neither of the players is particularly strong at carrying the ball up the field.
The Atheltic has recently reported that Tyler Adams has a relegation clause of £20m. That would not be a particularly high fee for Brighton to pay if they were to sell Moises Caicedo.