Enzo Maresca has opened up about the differences between coaching Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice, who he calls “a complete player”.
Caicedo and Rice starred for Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively, last season and have again been among their club’s most important players so far this campaign.
The two midfielders, who each cost their clubs more than £100million, face off at Stamford Bridge in Sunday’s huge clash between the top two sides in the Premier League table.
Chelsea head coach Maresca, 45, is in the rare position of having managed both players, having coached a young Rice when assistant manager of West Ham between 2018 and 2019 and now as Caicedo’s manager since taking the Chelsea job in 2024.
“It was a little bit different time when I was at West Ham,” Maresca said, when comparing what it was like to work with both. “He [Rice] was younger.
“I spent many extra sessions with Declan, one-v-one, and you could see that he was already very good.
“He was with second-team players as a central defender. Manuel Pellegrini decided to play him in the first team as a midfielder but [he] was different age compared to Moises.
“But you could see that he was already very, very good.”
Maresca was asked whether he takes any credit for how Rice went from a young centre-back to become one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and a £105m Arsenal signing.
“No, no, no,” the Chelsea boss said. “Pellegrini decided to play [him there]. He's not playing as a holding midfielder. He's playing forward, he's playing like Enzo Fernandez. It's a different position [from Caicedo’s].
“It's evolution for him and it's Mikel [Arteta]'s work. He is a fantastic player and he's a complete player. He can defend, he can attack, he can do anything.”
