Makelele starred for Mourinho's Blues
Back in 2003, when Roman Abramovich was financing an ambitious project in west London, France international Makelele was lured away from La Liga giants Real Madrid. He was considered to form part of the global elite.
The arrival of Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager a year later revolutionised the Blues, with the ‘Special One’ assembling a squad that was virtually untouchable across his debut campaign. Just 15 goals were conceded in the 2004-05 Premier League season.
Makelele helped to deliver domestic dominance, with opposition attacks often being snuffed out before the likes of John Terry and Petr Cech were called into attack. The value of a match-altering No.6 has continued to grow since then.
In the present, Caicedo is charged with carrying out those duties in the English capital. He was acquired in 2023 as part of a £100 million ($134m) transfer agreement with Brighton. Injuries have held him back at times of late, but full fitness appears to have been recaptured.
Can Caicedo be compared with Makelele?
Many have been quick to suggest that the South American has reached Makelele-esque performance levels. Asked if he shares that opinion, former Blues midfielder Poyet - who was speaking in association with Gambling.com, the go-to source for casino sites - told GOAL: “Makelele, his trajectory, his career was incredible. I think he [Caicedo] needs to keep performing at this level for a few years to be able to compare.
“I think it's too early, but at the same time, he's so important for this team. It's unbelievable the difference between the first four or five games without Caicedo to the last two with Caicedo. And that shows how much they were missing him, especially in this system that he's trying to play Xabi [Alonso], to allow the three up front to go on and produce.
“I think also that with all respect to Caicedo, the help of [Jordan] Henderson next to him not too many people were expecting, also giving him the chance to be himself. So I think he's a key player this season for Chelsea and I really hope that he keeps himself fit.”
Kante another title winner at Stamford Bridge
Makelele is not the only formidable Frenchman to have helped Chelsea to the Premier League crown. In 2016-17, having already formed part of Leicester’s odd-busting title triumph, N’Golo Kante enhanced his reputation when excelling for Antonio Conte’s Blues.
Could Caicedo follow that trophy-winning trend, having already savoured Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup successes? Poyet added when that question was put to him: “I was there in the game against Bournemouth and when you see the fluidity of the team going forward, everybody wants to score and you need someone who, tactically, sometimes people don't see where he's standing, where he's looking, where he's pointing to, where he's covering, like reading the game.
“And those are the special players that you named. Makelele, because of his ability to be ahead of the game. N’Golo Kante, because I never see somebody running that much in my life. I have seen players running, but he covered the whole pitch.
“I think it shows that we still need that player, number six, proper, old-fashioned, staying in front of the back four in every single team in the world. That sometimes with this new mentality of passing, passing, passing and Barcelona style or [Pep] Guardiola style or Spanish style, we forget about that central midfielder.”
Chelsea continue to spend big on transfers
Caicedo’s value is not lost on anybody at Stamford Bridge, with the all-action 24-year-old - who has taken on captaincy duties in certain fixtures - becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.
Chelsea have continued to spend big on more pieces of a title-chasing puzzle that are being slotted together around their No.25, with the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Emi Martinez hoping to help the Blues back to the summit of English and European football.