Not every signing has been a hit, but over the last few years, Chelsea has built a sensational squad.

At the back, the likes of Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana would likely start for most teams in the Premier League.

Likewise, Cole Palmer is one of the best attacking players in world football, and Estevao looks like someone who could develop into a world-class superstar.

Finally, Enzo Maresca has some unreal midfield options as well, with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernández the two standouts, and as if that wasn’t enough, Chelsea may well already have the perfect heir to the pair of them.

How Fernández and Caicedo compare in 2025/26

Fans might disagree about who Chelsea’s most important player is, but one thing most will surely agree on is that Caicedo and Fernández are among the candidates.

However, how are they stacking up against one another so far this season?

Well, starting with some of the basic surface-level barometers, the Argentine has made 24 appearances, most of which have come in central midfield, and he has scored five goals and provided two assists.

The Ecuadorian, on the other hand, has made 21 first-team appearances, almost all of which have come in the six, in which he’s scored four goals and provided one assist.

Given the fact that the former Brighton & Hove Albion gem plays deeper than his teammate, you’d probably have to say he just about edges it when it comes to output.

However, with six yellow cards and one red compared to the former Benfica man’s four yellows, he certainly comes out second best when it comes to temperament.

Okay then, which international superstar comes out looking better when comparing their underlying numbers, then?

Unsurprisingly, the former Seagulls ace comes out ahead in every defensive metric, and the World Cup winner does better in the more attacking ones.

However, metrics like passing accuracy, goal-creating actions and goals per shot, all per 90, just about tip the scales in the Santo Domingo-born monster’s favour.

Caicedo vs Fernández

Statistics per 90

Caicedo

Fernández

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.13

0.57

Progressive Passes

5.80

7.57

Progressive Carries

0.84

1.38

Goals per Shot

0.27

0.10

Passing Accuracy

90.1

82.9

Key Passes

0.50

1.71

Shot-Creating Actions

2.35

3.36

Goal-Creating Actions

0.42

0.26

Tackles

3.11

1.58

Blocks

1.09

1.05

Interceptions

2.69

0.46

Clearances

1.09

0.79

Ball Recoveries

5.88

4.14

All Stats via FBref for the 25/26 PL Season

With all that said, while Caicedo comes out looking the better player, Fernández is still an essential part of the Chelsea team, and now it seems the club might already have a young player who could be moulded to succeed him or his midfield partner.

The incredible gem who could replace Caicedo or Fernández

So then, to even be considered as a potential future replacement for either Caicedo or Fernandez, a player has to be something special.

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The good news is, from what those in the know seem to suggest, Mohammad Zongo is just that.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the consortium that owns Chelsea and Strasbourg, BlueCo, had agreed to sign the Burkina Faso youngster.

He is expected to join the French outfit in two years, once he turns 18, and is seen as someone with a future at Stamford Bridge.

With that said, why is he someone who could be the heir to one of the Blues’ two best midfielders?

Subscribe for deeper Chelsea midfield scouting insights Want rigorous Chelsea midfield analysis and prospect scouting? Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth stat breakdowns, tactical context, and scouting notes on Caicedo, Fernández and rising talents like Zongo. Subscribe Subscribe for deeper Chelsea midfield scouting insights Want rigorous Chelsea midfield analysis and prospect scouting? Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth stat breakdowns, tactical context, and scouting notes on Caicedo, Fernández and rising talents like Zongo.

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Well, firstly, he is a positionally versatile prospect, someone who can play in attack or deeper in midfield, which is likely one of the reasons Chelsea writer Lloyd Canfield said that the youngster “plays like a unique mix of Estevao and Moises Caicedo.”

Moreover, analyst Filipe Sousa has described the teenager phenom as “a complete and energetic box-to-box midfielder who contributes in every phase of the game.”

Sousa adds that the youngster is “technically clean and physically strong”, which helps him to cover space rapidly, win the ball and help start attacks.

With a description such as this, it’s hard not to think of Maresca’s Ecuadorian enforcer.

He isn’t just an engine, though, with U23 scout Antonio Mango calling him a “magic” player for his ability to create chances for his teammates.

Ultimately, there is a long time to go before Chelsea fans see Zongo represent them, but even so, it’s hard not to get excited about the prospect of him being the long-term heir to Caicedo or Fernandez.

Related Chelsea have a "ridiculous" talent at Cobham who looks like the next James

The teenage sensation could follow in James’ footsteps at Chelsea.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes

Skipper Hrishekesh Kanitkar’s fine batting display placed Maharashtrain a commanding position on the first day of the West Zone Ranji Matchagainst Gujarat at the Shivaji Stadium, Karad.Gujarat won the toss and invited Maharashtra to bat. The Maharashtrabatsmen made merry of the conditions with big partnerships in the daypiling a healthy 318 for five in 90 overs. Opener Bhave (71) andKanitkar (94) shared a 121 run partnership for the second wicket.Kanitkar and Abhijit Kale (35) added 82 for the third and the fourthwicket saw Kale and K Aphale (53 not out) add 60 in their turn at thewicket. Kanitkar caressed the ball to the fence on 14 occasions of 170deliveries and Bhave smashed the ball 13 times in his 131 ballinnings. Hitesh Majumdar bagged three of the five wickets to fall onthe first day.At the end of play K Aphale and Mandar Sane (5) were at the wicket.

Hyderabad inflicted an innings and 75 run defeat on Kerala in their South Zone Cooch Behar Trophy Under-19 game at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad today. The victory lifted Hyderabad to 22 points from four games, hot on the heels of Karnataka with 24 points. Kerala share the bottom spot with Goa, both on six points each from four games.Resuming their second innings at 40/2, Kerala required a further 210 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Overnight batsmen Vipin Lal and Rejas extended the total to 72 before the former was dislodged by S Shankar. The best part of the innings was a 51-run sixth wicket stand between Rejas (36) and RP Sujithi (42). The batsmen could not break the stranglehold of Shankar who picked 6/28 to send Kerala hurtling to 181 less than eleven overs after lunch.

Bodipati Sumanth will be looking to make the most of his second season in Ranji Trophy cricket © Martin Williamson

MSK Prasad, the former India wicketkeeper, will lead a 15-member Andhra Ranji squad to take part in the Ranji Trophy Super League.Prasad was made captain after former captain Venugopala Rao shifted allegiance to Maharashtra. The team will also be without the services of KS Sahabuddin, who signed up with the Indian Cricket League.The player to watch out for will be Bodipati Sumanth, the former India Under-19 batsman, who impressed on the U-19 team’s tour to England in 2006. He scored an unbeaten 97 in the third one-dayer in Cardiff. Sumanth has played three first-class and five domestic Twenty20 matches for his state.The squad will be coached by former Test player, Syed Abid Ali, who had guided Andhra to the top of the South Zone in 2002-03, when the Ranji Trophy was zone-based.The squad’s 20-day conditioning camp in Visakhapatnam ends tomorrow.Andhra squad
MSK Prasad (capt, wk), Arjun Kumar, Mohammad Faiq, Gnaneswara Rao, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, I Raju, Prasad Reddy, Reddy, V Sandeep, Shankara Rao, Bodapati Sumanth, Marripuri Suresh, Satya Kumar Varma, P Vijay Kumar, Hemal Watekar
Coach: Syed Abid Ali

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 1:48

Moonda: NZ learnt from Durban mistakes

South Africa have only once successfully chased a score of 170-plus in T20 cricket, and New Zealand made sure it stayed that way. Kane Williamson’s line-up put right what they did wrong two days ago, and built on their start with the bat to allow for a flourishing finish. Their attack adapted and studded South Africa’s scorecard with scalps to ensure the hosts were never quite in a chase of 178.Unlike Durban, where the temperatures stay tropical even in the dry winter, the arid air in Centurion has an effect and both teams thought that would warrant the inclusion of two specialist spinners on a parched, cracked surface. Both teams opened with a spinner, but neither got the desired result.Aaron Phangiso’s first ball was hammered wide of a diving AB de Villiers at cover, while Nathan McCullum’s first over was boundary-less, but only because Williamson pulled off an exceptional stop and mid-off. Instead, it was a strip for seamers but only those willing to bend their backs. The short ball proved an effective weapon as Mitchell McClenaghan showed, but South Africa did not make as much use of it as they should have.For the second match in succession, they went too full and New Zealand took advantage. The visitors scored 64 runs in the v which amounted to more than a third of their total. By contrast, South Africa only managed 26 runs down the ground and lost both Morne van Wyk and David Miller to the short ball, while only Farhaan Behardien, with a career-best 36, put up something of a fight.Behardien was the only South African who had reason to celebrate – he also took his first T20 wicket when Martin Guptill holed out to a full toss – but by then New Zealand were already faring better than they had on Friday night.Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott provided plenty that was pitched up, and Williamson and Guptill plundered runs over their heads. Their partnership was worth 50 when Williamson sliced Rabada to deep third man and when Guptill was dropped two overs later, New Zealand looked ready to replay their Kingsmead collapse.But South Africa were unable to enforce the same squeeze. Guptill was on 38 when Miller put him down, and he added another 22 runs to his score, mostly by taking on the spinners. He brought up his sixth T20 fifty – the only one of the game – with a slog sweep off Eddie Leie and breached the boundary one more time before holing out to a full-toss offered by Behardien.Grant Elliott followed Guptill in the following over when he was trapped on the front pad by a tossed up delivery from Phangiso, but still, New Zealand did not slow down. They scored 63 runs off the last seven overs as Neesham and Colin Munro brought out an array of strokes, with Munro taking 18 runs off Abbott’s third over with clean strokes down the ground.Rabada had Neesham and Munro dismissed in consecutive balls to find himself on a hat-trick for the second time in the series. Abbott did not enjoy the same fortune, though, and went wicketless for the third international match in a row.South Africa were never able to get on a similar roll. Van Wyk was cramped for room on the pull and caught behind in the third over, and Hashim Amla was caught at point in the fourth which meant an unsteady start.De Villiers, Rilee Rossouw, Farhaan Behardien and Miller all had the opportunity to put that right but none showed the patience required to do that. De Villiers departed cheaply, going for one big shot too many and Rossouw, who showed proficiency against both pace and spin, came out of his crease to pull Ish Sodhi and found short midwicket which left Behardien and Miller to score 103 runs in the second half of the South Africa innings.Scoreboard pressure increased when they found the boundary only four times in the five overs that followed and Behardien, although comfortable, through caution to the wind. He slog-swept a Nathan McCullum full toss to deep mid-wicket to begin South Africa’s slide. A wicket fell in each of the next three overs as the pressure told. New Zealand offered deliveries South Africa could not resist hitting and the visitors’ fielding was sharp enough to take the chances.Behardien, David Wiese, Phangiso and Miller joined de Villiers, Rossouw, Amla and van Wyk in falling to big shots, but the lower-middle order’s collapse was more dramatic. South Africa lost 4 for 19, stubbed out of the chase and were forced to share the series spoils.

David Miller’s approach at the crease and ability to create run-scoring opportunities need strengthening if he is hopes to find form again, according to former South Africa captain Graeme Smith. Miller last scored a half-century 10 ODI innings ago, and the drought has raised concerns about his technique and the impact of his failures on a middle-order that is missing JP Duminy, who is on paternity leave. Smith, also a left-hander, has identified what may be wrong.”Looking at David Miller now, there were a few ways to get him out: lbw, caught behind and with the short ball. He wants to get to a point where he lines himself up a little bit better with his front foot and gets his head to go to the ball and allow himself to play through mid-on and straight,” Smith said while doing analysis for during Sunday’s second ODI between South Africa and New Zealand.Miller was out for 5, leaving South Africa 76 for 4, when he leaned forward to play a Doug Bracewell delivery that was angled in towards the pads, took some extra bounce and then the leading edge as he closed the face of the bat too early. In dissecting the dismissal, Smith demonstrated how Miller had not lined up his head and his front foot, which resulted in him being off balance and unable to play the ball as intended.”David technically falls across himself which then causes him problems. You want to get yourself into a position where you are in a press,” Smith explained while mimicking the slightly compressed position that batsmen employ while getting ready to face a ball, ready to spring to action. “The only batter I have seen in world cricket who didn’t press was Matthew Hayden. For everyone else, you want to get into a nice strong position where your head and front foot are lined up and you can move them together.”Smith recommended Miller look to another southpaw, Rilee Rossouw, who has been getting himself into good positions consistently. “Look at Rilee, he sets his front foot nicely so lbw is not an option, his front foot and his head are aligned and they are moving in one direction,” Smith said.This is particularly important if Miller is in earlier in the innings, when the ball is still new and possibly moving around. “The new ball is the key factor here,” Smith said. “There’s options to get out against the new ball because it’s going to seam, it’s going to swing and in the middle order you don’t often get those situations, you might get pace off the ball but I think if David sets up a little bit more for the swinging ball and gets that front foot into a slightly better position, he can be a better off-side player.”Learning to line up better is not as easy as Smith makes it sound so he also had some pointers on what Miller and South Africa’s coaching staff can do in training to help make the adjustments. “There were two different training methods for me. There was trying to get used to conditions and in my net practices it was about setting up for what I was going to face out in the middle and then I would go away and if I wanted to work on confidence or shot making, I’d do that by myself in a quiet area,” Smith said. “It’s about understanding what you need to do in your net practices, the type of bowlers you are going to be facing, the conditions and you train accordingly. And then it’s about going away and working on the areas of your game you want to work on or building confidence in terms of your shot-making. “Miller would likely need to do both by realising the New Zealand bowlers, and doubtless others who will study video footage, have identified that he is not hitting as straight as he used to and is a candidate for overbalancing and mishitting. Not only has that hampered him technically but it could have a mental impact too as Miller questions his own ability, which Smith believes can improve beyond being a death-hitter.”David is such a crucial part of South Africa’s line-up. You want to grow him to become a better all-round batter for South Africa because a man of his ability could really change games,” Smith said. “He is a better player than being restricted to the last 10 or 15 overs. If he can learn to bat situations and coaches can grow his technique to a point where he can start playing Test cricket, he can be successful. If he can build that technical side of his game and find a way to line up a little bit straighter with his timing and ability, he is a very difficult guy to bowl to.”

All it took was a few drinks in The Oval dressing room after the Investec Test series for Joe Root and David Warner to end the simmering feud that burst into being on the last Ashes tour.They were so proud of it, they even marked the occasion on Twitter, fists pointing to the camera, Warner grinning broadly while Root, who normally cannot keep a smile off his face, gave a strikingly poor imitation of a boxing tough guy.Both elevated to their respective vice-captaincies, they had provided a picture to suggest that the game was in good hands.That relaxed humour was very much in keeping with an Ashes series that has been contested in excellent spirits, with sledging within acceptable boundaries, and no signs of the boorishness that since the ICC took moves to stamp it out at the World Cup has largely receded.It all began on a fractious night in the Walkabout Bar in Birmingham when Warner was accused of making an “unprovoked physical attack” on Root following England’s 48-run win over Australia in the Champions Trophy at Edgbaston.After the ECB lodged an official complaint, Warner publically apologised for aiming a punch at Root but was suspended all the same by Cricket Australia.Warner’s attempts to explain his actions at the start of the Ashes series were bizarre: lots of stuff about how Joe Root had offended him by stealing the wig he was wearing and using it to do an impression of Hashim Amla.Root responded: “Disappointing to have my character questioned – those who know me realise how ridiculous Warner’s excuse for hitting me sounds but that’s his choice to try and justify his actions.”As the story refused to go away, it was enough to make you squirm, but a few drinks after Australia won by an innings and 46 runs at The Kia Oval on Sunday, and England’s winning margin was trimmed to 3-2, the path to reconciliation looked well and truly oiled.

Could Alastair Cook pull out the reverse sweep during the Test series against Pakistan? For one of England’s most orthodox batsmen, and an increasingly rare link back to the traditional form of Test batting, it would appear an unlikely prospect. But the importance of England not becoming bogged down by Pakistan’s spinners has been pinpointed by Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, as a key route to success this winterCook is one of three left-handers likely to be part of England’s top seven at the start of the series. His opening partner is set to be Moeen Ali, while Ben Stokes will bat at No. 6. They are going to be facing two spinners, legspinner Yasir Shah and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar, turning the ball into them with fields that are likely to stifle their leg-side scoring options.England had an early taste of such a tactic during their opening warm-up match when, on occasions, the Pakistan A spinners – the two who bowled the most, Zafar Gohar and Mohammad Ashgar, were left-armers – had a seven-two leg-side field.England have previously been criticised for their obsession with the conventional sweep in Test cricket, instead of hitting straight down the ground, and Farbrace said that playing straight should be the preferred option in the first innings. However, he believes that all variations of the sweep could have a key part to play, especially deeper into the Test matches.”Second innings, the sweep is going to be a huge part of the game,” Farbrace said. “Even [in the first warm-up], we saw to the left-handers with a seven-two leg-side field bowling into the stumps, it might be that the left-handers have to learn to reverse to get the ball into the offside, just to manoeuvre the field.”People talk about ‘you’ve got to play straight’ but all you’re looking to do with the reverse sweep is play it once or twice to manoeuvre the field. What the best batsmen do against spin is manoeuvre the field to where they want the fielders to be to create gaps to knock the ball into. That’s something you have to do. On slow pitches, you have constantly to be rotating the strike and getting the ball into gaps.”The biggest danger, Farbrace says, is when a batsman becomes stuck at the single end, giving a spinner the time to work him over. After the warm-up match Mark Wood conceded how England will have to play a different game compared to their expansive Ashes cricket, but it must not go from bash to block.The 2007 vintage of Alastair Cook attempts a rare reverse sweep•Getty Images

“The bowler builds pressure, fielders around the bat, and eventually you bat-pad one and you get out,” Farbrace said. “The key for our batters is, one, to adapt to the conditions very quickly and have the options to play the sweep, reverse sweep, whatever it might be. Even hitting over the top, down the ground, all of our batsmen have got to have that option within their game as well.”England’s 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan in 2012 will be a regular reference point, but since then they have drawn in Sri Lanka and won in India so their record in subcontinental conditions – which the UAE can be bracketed as – is not as bad as some would make out.In two of the victories – Colombo and Mumbai – the now absent Kevin Pietersen was to the fore making 158 and 186 with astonishing strokeplay, including the switch hit, and quick footwork that did not allow the spinners to dominate.However, Cook was also immense, making 94 against Sri Lanka and three centuries in India. He played to his strengths, working off his pads, playing square into the off side and picking off anything that was dropped short. So the odds of Cook moving away from his method are slim. The first innings of the recent Ashes series was also instructive when he tried to attack Nathan Lyon early on and edged a cut. His is the long game. For anything more extravagant from the lefties, you probably need to look to Stokes.But not over-hitting has been a key message from short-term consultant Mahela Jayawardene who is working with England until the end of the first Test. The outfield in Sharjah for the first warm-up match was slow, reducing value for shots, but England’s batsmen are being told not to get frustrated.”Rather than trying to hit the ball harder because the ball is not getting to you as easily as it might do at home, the key is to let the ball come a bit more, hitting more under your nose, actually looking to bunt the ball into gaps,” Farbrace said. “If you see a long hop, the natural reaction is to pull it as hard as you can…[Jayawardene] is talking about letting the ball come, hitting it as late as you can, guide it into gaps. You’re only going to get one [run] anyway.”We saw people whacking the ball hard still only getting ones. Rather than whacking it and nicking behind, just guide the ball. They are the very simple things that he’s talked about. And it is simple. There’s nothing rocket science about what he’s talked about. He’s just offered some of his thoughts.”How many of those thoughts England’s batsmen implement, only time will tell.

Opener Regis Chakabva and Tinotenda Mutombodzi struck 61 each to help Masholand Eagles chase down a revised target of 225 in 48 overs against Matabeleland Tuskers with 12 balls and four wickets to spare by Duckworth-Lewis method in Harare.Chamu Chibhabha was dismissed cheaply but Chakabva kept the scorecard ticking as Eagles reached 52 for 1 before the rain arrived. Cephas Zhuwao was bowled by Tiwanda Mupariwa off the first ball after resumption but Chakabva and Mutombodzi added 36 together, after which Ryal Burl applied the finishing touches to the chase.Earlier a collective bowling effort saw Eagles restrict Tuskers to 227. Seven batsmen passed double figures but none managed to make a big score. Mbekezeli Mabuza hit 39 off 47 balls with the next best score being Mupariwa’s 31-ball 37. He clubbed two fours and two sixes but the total of 227 was not adequate in the end.Mountaineers beat Midwest Rhinos by 18 runs in the Pro50 Championship fixture at the Kwekwe Sports Club in Harare. Mountaineers made 242 for 4 on the back of half-centuries from Timycen Maruma (69) and Hamilton Masakadza (65). Donald Tiripano, the pacer, then recorded figures of 5 for 47 off 10 overs, his best List-A performance, as Rhinos were bowled out for 242 in the penultimate over.Rhinos’ top order floundered as they were reduced to 53 for 4, before Prince Masvaure (91) and Remembrance Nyathi (46) came up with the rescue act. The pair added 125 for the fifth wicket before falling in successive overs. Nevill Madziva made an unbeaten 27 to keep their hopes alive, but that was scant consolation as the last four batsmen could manage just nine runs between them.

Sussex were indebted to bowler Robin Martin-Jenkins (86), who made hishighest score in first-class cricket with thirteen boundaries, to save their innings in the championship match against Essex at Arundel. His 150 runs fifth-wicket partnership with Tony Cottey (83), who reached the boundary twelve times in his 145-ball stay, picked the county from 45-4 and set them on the way to a 265 runs total.Both batsmen were dismissed by Danny Law (3-74), previously with Sussex, after which Ashley Cowan (4-61) cut down the lower-order with three wickets for eight runs in less than two overs. The rescue was needed as neither captain Chris Adams nor Michael Bevan scored as they offered no stroke to the balls which dismissed them. By then Richard Montgomerie was already back in the pavilion.Wicketkeeper Barry Hyam’s fine catch – one of his five in the innings – to sendback Toby Peirce gave Mark Ilott his 50th first-class wicket. In their 15 overs batting before the close Essex reached 30-2.