Statistical analysis, What Caicedo will bring to Liverpool

Liverpool have reportedly reached an agreement with Brighton for the transfer of Moises Caicedo for a British transfer record fee of £110million, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.

🚨 Liverpool reach agreement with Brighton to sign Moises Caicedo for British record £110m. #BHAFC held auction using midnight deadline. #LFC highest bidder, #CFC at £100m. Personal terms a formality + medical planned for Friday in Liverpool @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/cUS7TdNWyL

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 11, 2023

The Ecuadorian will become Liverpool’s third signing of the summer, after the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szobozslai earlier in the window.

Following the departures of the likes of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and James Milner, the acquisition of a defensive midfielder has become a make-or-break in Liverpool’s squad plans- and Liverpool have their solution.

How will Caicedo fit into Jurgen Klopp’s plans?

After two really promising signings in Mac Allister and Szobozslai, Liverpool were still missing two vital components in their midfield.

Those were a deep-lying midfielder with fantastic defensive capabilities and also a player that can cover a huge amount of ground and give a whole new level of energy into Klopp’s midfield that hasn’t been there for several years.

The potential signing of Caicedo would see Klopp shift to a different type of defensive midfielder, with the Ecuadorian being hugely different to Liverpool’s previous six, Fabinho.

Caicedo would likely slot straight into Klopp’s plans immediately upon signing, with a full pre-season under his belt for Brighton.

With the current injuries to the likes of Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara, Caicedo could be set to play a huge part in Liverpool’s season straight away.

Photo: IMAGO

The numbers:

Now we’re going to look deeper into the numbers behind Moises Caicedo’s performances in the 2022/23 season compared to Fabinho and another Liverpool target in Romeo Lavia.

First of all, we’re going to look into the defensive numbers per 90 minutes behind each of the players mentioned above with a ranking on each stat.

Moises Caicedo:

• Tackles per 90- 2.83 (1st)
• Blocks per 90- 1.27 (2nd)
• Interceptions per 90- 1.56 (1st)
• % of dribblers tackled per 90- 57.6% (1st)
• % of aerials won per 90- 64.8% (1st)
• Ball recoveries per 90- 7.05 (2nd)

Romeo Lavia:

• Tackles per 90- 2.43 (2nd)
• Blocks per 90- 1.90 (1st)
• Interceptions per 90- 1.34 (2nd)
• % of dribblers tackled per 90- 39.6% (2nd)
• % of aerials won per 90- 41.2% (3rd)
• Ball recoveries per 90- 7.58 (1st)

Fabinho:

• Tackles per 90- 2.14 (3rd)
• Blocks per 90- 1.22 (3rd)
• Interceptions per 90- 1.25 (3rd)
• % of dribblers tackled per 90- 34.7% (3rd)
• % of aerials won per 90- 59.7% (2nd)
• Ball recoveries per 90- 5.88 (3rd)

As you can see, either of Liverpool’s transfer targets will be expected to be a huge improvement on Fabinho’s defensive performances last season.

However, particularly Moises Caicedo with the Ecuadorian being an absolute monster defensively for Brighton last season and the numbers back that up.

His aerial statistics surprised me the most, with the 21-year-old not being a particularly tall player like Fabinho for example.

He strongly reminds me of N’Golo Kante back in the day for Leicester City, who would then go on to take his game to another level at a bigger club like Chelsea and I think this could be the case with Caicedo.

Finally, we’re going to look into depth at each player’s statistics whilst in possession and see what Caicedo or Lavia could offer from a deep-lying position.

Moises Caicedo:

• Touches per 90- 75.45 (1st)
• Passes completed per 90- 57.97 (1st)
• Pass completion % per 90- 88.6% (1st)
• Key passes per 90- 1.18 (1st)
• Progressive passes per 90- 6.41 (1st)
• Successful take-on % per 90- 51.9% (2nd)
• Carries per 90- 44.04 (1st)

Romeo Lavia:

• Touches per 90- 52.19 (3rd)
• Passes completed per 90- 34.81 (3rd)
• Pass completion % per 90- 86.2% (3rd)
• Key passes per 90- 0.65 (2nd)
• Progressive passes per 90- 4.13 (3rd)
• Successful take-on % per 90- 56.0% (1st)
• Carries per 90- 32.58 (3rd)

Fabinho:

• Touches per 90- 71.08 (2nd)
• Passes completed per 90- 55.28 (2nd)
• Pass completion % per 90- 88.4% (2nd)
• Key passes per 90- 0.61 (3rd)
• Progressive passes per 90- 5.38 (2nd)
• Successful take-on % per 90- 39.1% (3rd)
• Carries per 90- 40.05 (2nd)

Caicedo definitely is the more forward-thinking player with the ball at his feet, boasting many more key passes and progressive passes per 90 than Fabinho and Lavia.

The 21-year-old’s mobility and physical condition is also presented well in these statistics with many more carries and successful take-ons per 90 compared to the other two midfielders.

It is obviously important to note that Lavia’s numbers in possession aren’t going to be near those of Caicedo’s and Fabinho’s whilst playing for Southampton, who suffered relegation from the Premier League last season.

However, overall I think Liverpool could be about to make a huge step towards challenging Manchester City for the Premier League title once again and the signing of Caicedo will undoubtedly take this Liverpool squad to another level.