The Ecuadorian has been one of Chelsea’s stand-out performers so far this season, playing a key role in our rise up to second place in the table, going into tomorrow’s London derby away at Tottenham Hotspur.

Maresca clearly knows Caicedo’s value to the team, as he is one of just two players – alongside Cole Palmer – who has been named in the Italian’s starting XI for all 14 of our Premier League fixtures in 2024/25.

Declan Rice of Arsenal and Manchester City’s Rodri are often considered to be among the Premier League’s leading players in the holding midfield role, but our head coach seems to be in no doubt Caicedo deserves to be in the conversation too.

‘For sure, he’s now at that level, no doubt,’ insisted Maresca, with no hint of hesitation.

‘Unfortunately now Rodri has an injury, but Declan is playing and I think Moi can sit at that table with that kind of midfielder.’

Of course, Caicedo has not always featured in that midfield role for the Blues under Maresca.

Occasionally, the 23-year-old has taken on the inverted full-back role which has become such a cornerstone of Enzo’s Chelsea side, and our head coach said he will continue to look for ways to tailor his tactics to the opposition we face on a game-by-game basis.

‘I change my tactics every game, because I think the opponents are not the same, they are all different, they all set up in different ways,’ he continued.

‘Even if they have the same structure, like 4-4-2, they don’t behave in the same way. They can be more aggressive, less aggressive, so I think you need different tactics. It depends on the other team. You can change the structure, but you maintain the same principle.

‘The Brighton game was in one way and the Aston Villa game was completely different. You cannot use the same plan for both games. Brighton were high-pressing and gave us a lot of space in behind, but Aston Villa had a low block and were just waiting.

‘So if you do the same plan for both games, probably for one of them it is not the correct one. We try to adjust our plan depending on how the other team attacks or defends.’

Only time will tell what tactical adjustments Maresca has in mind for tomorrow’s London derby at Tottenham.