By Joe Ellis

19th Apr, 2022 | 7:30pm

Brighton: Powerhouse Moises Caicedo is Yves Bissouma 2.0

Brighton make the daunting trip to the Etihad to take on Premier League leaders Manchester City on Wednesday with a fresh midfield impetus.

Ecuadorian international Moises Caicedo started for the Seagulls in their 1-0 win away at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and even at 20 years of age, bossed the middle of the park against seasoned Premier League talent.

His powerful stature combined with a composed head on his shoulders allowed him to conduct the game for Graham Potter’s side who went on to score late on after Caicedo had been subbed off for Adam Lallana.

He has taken some time to adapt to English football and we’ve rarely seen him play for Brighton since he joined from Independiente del Valle in the summer but he is starting to look like the player fans expected.

His skill set is very similar to that of his Seagulls teammate Yves Bissouma who has begun to flourish in the Premier League as one of Potter’s most crucial players.

Caicedo is on the path to becoming exactly that himself and his start to life in England has done him no harm whatsoever.

He even spent half the season on loan in Belgium at Beerschot but since he’s been recalled, he has featured just twice in the Brighton first team, getting an assist in the 2-1 victory against Arsenal.

The jump up to the Premier League hasn’t fazed him at all having already played 20 times for his country and his 6.75 average rating in the English top-flight, as per WhoScored.com, suggests that he is bedding in nicely on British shores.

With every game he plays, he will become more confident and accustomed to everything he is trying to cope with and once he is fully settled in the team, Brighton will have one of the best midfield partnerships in the entire division.

In other Brighton news, How far could Tariq Lamptey go? We think he has got all the ability to go a very long way in football and even make his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad soon.