Former Liverpool star explains Moises Caicedo theory as Chelsea man struggles to replicate Brighton form

Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton & Hove Albion controls the ball whilst under pressure from former teammate Moises Caicedo of Chelsea

The midfielder swapped Albion for the Blues in a £115 million move this summer and while it is still early days, he has not lived up to that hefty price tag. The 22-year-old was an all-conquering colossus in the Seagulls’ midfield, shutting down attacks, and strong-arming Roberto De Zerbi’s midfield.

At Stamford Bridge, however, he seems a shadow of his former self, is making mistakes, and looks a bit lost in Mauricio Pochettino’s incohesive system. And former Liverpool forward Saunders believes Brighton’s passing out from the back approach suited Caicedo to a tee, but that isn’t the case at the west London outfit.

He said on talkSPORT: “Brighton do it [passing out from the back] differently to everyone else and if you watch them tonight (Thursday against Tottenham), Lewis Dunk puts his foot on top of the ball. They come out from the back, and Lewis Dunk says, 'Come and get the ball off me', to the opposition's front three. As soon as that front three starts pressing, Brighton's two midfielders jump towards Dunk at the same time and they play a triangle, one-touch around their front three and they are out.

"They have a route, an NFL playbook. If that don't work and if the midfielders come and stand the wrong side of you, we will slot one through to [Danny] Welbeck through the gap. [Alexis] Mac Allister used to find the space brilliantly. So they all know what they are doing and they practice it on the training ground. You can see he [De Zerbi] practices it nonstop.

"That's why you see people like [Moises] Caicedo going to a different team and they don't practice it and he doesn't look the same player. When they come out of Brighton they are in a well-oiled machine and they give them plan A, B, and C. If they do this, the front three, we do this. If they sit back we do this and eventually we have got little plays out wide and we put crosses in."

Saunders, who spent two seasons at Brighton between 1985-87, added that Albion deserve so much credit for how the club is run, their transfer policy, and the way De Zerbi has got them playing. However, he felt not every team passes out from the back nearly as well as the Seagulls do.

“Trust the process. That means stick to the plan. He [De Zerbi] has taken the job knowing what's coming. The owner, the Bloom family, are running the club brilliantly. They spend loads of time on replacing the players they have got and getting it ready to happen. They are a really good football team," said the former Welsh international.

"For me, you see some teams beating themselves playing out from the back and I am cringing watching it and I'm still trying to get my head around it. The risks you are taking to get up the other end of the pitch don't add up for me, you are losing goals trying to do it.”