Caicedo started his career in the youth system of Espoli and Colorados SC until joining Independiente del Valle. He was born in Santo Domingo, Ecuador's fourth-largest city, nestled in the foothills west of the Andes. He continued to shine at the youth stage, winning titles like the Copa Mitad del Mundo as well as the Generation Adidas Cup, where they defeated Real Madrid in the final, eventually making his IDV debut as a substitute against LDU Quito in October 2019. Independiente del Valle captured the U20 Libertadores at the beginning of 2020, and he was a key member of the team. He showed his leadership and potential by scoring a last-minute penalty equalizer against Flamengo in the semi-final and then leading his team to victory over River Plate in the final. Caicedo moved to English side Brighton and Hove Albion last season playing thrice in the Premier League 2 while growing good.
Style of Play
Due to his versatility, passing, and tactical discipline, Caicedo is indeed the prototypical flexible defensive midfielder, capable of performing as either the primary holding midfielder or the more forward-thinking half of a double pivot pairing. Caicedo maintains and recycles ownership well, making seamless transitions from defence to attack, by always looking to collect the ball from the centre backs. Although most of his passing is simple and accurate, he can be more imaginative going forward. He also has a good long-range shot.
Off-the ball ability
Caicedo is equally as impressive with or without the ball. Whether that's guaranteeing he's in the right defensive role or making sure he finds room to receive the ball from his teammates, his tactical reading and movement are inferior to none. Christian Pellerano, a former teammate and club captain, has credited his exceptional spatial awareness as well as his natural ability to be in the correct place at all times. This has undoubtedly contributed to him being nicknamed the Ecuadorian Kante, though Caicedo has also cited Pellerano, Jefferson Orejuela, and Sebastian Mendez as influences. Caicedo also has the athletic ability to go with his positional acumen and planning. He's a ball of energy who can cover a lot of ground to cover the room in front of the defence and then move through to support the attack when needed.
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Tackling and Intercepting
He has averaged 4.68 effective defensive duels per game in his brief career, and the fact that he doesn't pick up many cards speaks to how clean he is in the tackle. Furthermore, he averages 5.08 interceptions per season, showing his dominance in the defensive facets of the game once again.
Passing and attacking contributions
He is composed on the ball and prefers to control the pace of the game from deep-lying positions, whether by simple passes or a fast switch of play that splits the lines and puts the team on the offensive. He had been getting passing averages around 94%. Furthermore, he has demonstrated the ability to identify space in the box in the attacking third, and also the opportunity to carry the ball forward and influence things in the final third.
Mentality
His cognitive development, particularly for an 18-year-old, stands out. He stands out from his peers because of the ease with which he transitioned to first-team football. He leads by example and bears responsibility seriously, always making himself ready for the ball and engaging effectively with teammates, and he is not afraid to mobilize players many years his senior.
Conclusion
Right now, the first aim will be to ensure that, with the start of the new season Caicedo makes his debut for the Brighton and Hove Albion first team in the EPL. However, achieving so much in so little time would surely get his hopes up into playing European football within a year or two. So, he might be looking for a move to a better European Club, where he might get his swing at European glory.
As for the Ecuadorian National Team, he has already had his debut in 2020 with 1 goal in 4 matches with the team. It is now to see if he gets his chance in Copa America 2021 and how he fairs in that.
