Former Chelsea player Mikel stated on his podcast "Obi One" that Chelsea's failure to recruit a sufficient midfielder during this summer's transfer window is now severely damaging head coach Enzo Maresca.

After Enzo Maresca took over, Chelsea started the season well, but their performance has declined in recent weeks, losing to Arsenal and then drawing 2-2 at home against promoted Hull City. The Blues have few problems in attack, but their defence is clearly leaking, having scored 18 goals but conceded 12 in 6 matches across all competitions so far this season.

Chelsea recruited World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez and French defender Lacroix this summer to strengthen their defence, but it's clear the team still needs to work harder on the training pitch. However, Mikel believes the main issue lies in midfield, particularly the absence of Caicedo. This player has only played 14 minutes this season due to a calf injury.

Mikel said: "We're missing Caicedo, and when he returns, I think we'll be a far more stable team. He's the one responsible for disrupting the opposition's attack and ensuring the defence is protected. Our defence actually isn't bad. The energy he brings, his tackles, his organisation, and his ability to carry the ball forward, it's very similar to what Rice does for Arsenal. Caicedo helps us in that way, and his absence has too big an impact. Once he's back, I think we'll be much better, there's no doubt about that."

With the Ecuadorian international's absence, Enzo Maresca has more often paired Lavia with Reece James in midfield, and the captain appears no longer to be considered as a right-back.

Chelsea currently lacks midfield depth because the club failed to find a replacement for Enzo during the transfer window, who joined Manchester City on deadline day for a record £125 million.

Chelsea nearly signed the highly respected young Monaco player Lamine Camara, but the deal fell through at the last minute, which angered Mikel: "This is a position where the club failed to strengthen itself in the transfer window, and we failed. We knew from the start that Enzo wanted to leave the club, we knew he wanted to go for a long time. Yes, we have £125 million more in the bank, but we failed to bring in another player, so now we're bearing the consequences."

"We keep talking about conceding goals. Yes, you can blame the defence, but in this system, you need at least two holding midfielders to protect and cover the back line. You have to do that, because if you don't, the defence will be exposed."

"Players like Palmer, Rogers, João Félix... they don't drop back as much as others. We don't want to pull them back to defend, because their job is to operate around the midfield line, and when the ball comes to them, what they need to do is what they do best: create chances, score goals. We don't want them to waste too much energy chasing people back, because once they get the ball, they need that energy to move forward."

"So, when Caicedo returns with his physicality, energy, and ability to cover two or three positions, helping the team regain the ball, it will make us far more stable. We really need him back, and yes, we lost Enzo, but I think if Caicedo can get back into the team, we'll be a far better team, because we're conceding too many goals. It's incredible—we can't rely on scoring four or five goals per match to win. We should be able to score two goals, and the match should be done."

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