Credit: Michael Regan/Getty Images

'Doesn't contribute'... Paul Scholes slams Chelsea's marquee signing with questionable take

Originally posted on HITC | By Jacob Raw | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 8:51 AM ET

Paul Scholes has accused one of Chelsea’s marquee signings of failing to live up to his price tag.

Enzo Maresca’s first season at Chelsea has now concluded, and fans couldn’t be happier with how the season has finished.

After securing a Champions League return on the final day of the season, Maresca led Chelsea to silverware a couple of days later, beating Real Betis 4-1 in the Europa Conference League final.

Maresca has seemingly found his favourites among his rather large Chelsea squad, with the likes of Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella racking up plenty of appearances under the Italian.

However, another one of the Chelsea coach’s favourites has recently come under fire from Manchester United legend Paul Scholes.

Moises Caicedo “doesn’t contribute a lot”, says Scholes

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

Moises Caicedo joined Chelsea in 2023 from Brighton for a reported fee of £115m, and has appeared on 45 occasions for Chelsea this season, but Scholes has had his say.

Speaking on The Overlap, Scholes had this to say about the Chelsea midfielder: “It’s easy to do everything as a midfielder, and people talk about Caicedo, he’s played 38 games [in the Premier League], brilliant, what an achievement, but was there much quality?

“Did he create a lot? Did he control loads of games for Chelsea? I don’t remember that.”

Scholes added: “I think there’s an era now where midfield players can go through seasons without really contributing a lot.”

This isn’t the first time Caicedo has been criticised publicly, but is it fair this time around?

How well did Moises Caicedo perform for Chelsea this season?

Caicedo featured in every Premier League game for Chelsea and therefore could argue that he was a key cog in the Blues’ system.

However, as Scholes is suggesting, did Caicedo do enough in those games?

The answer is yes.

Moises Caicedo in the PL for Chelsea 24/25	Stats
Appearances	38
Pass accuracy	90.2%
Accurate long balls	2.57
Tackles won	1.96
Duels won	6.33

His underlying data in the Premier League suggests that he can dictate games by winning the ball back numerous times and progressing his side up the pitch consistently, without giving the ball to the opposition.

The data suggests that he is doing the core responsibilities required of a modern-day central defensive midfielder, and effectively, as it’s no fluke that Chelsea are back in the Champions League and won silverware this year.