Graham Potter has been so impressed with Moises Caicedo’s start to life in the Premier League that he regrets not giving him an earlier opportunity.
The 20-year-old made his debut in the 2-1 win over Arsenal and followed that up with another start in the 1-0 victory over Tottenham on Saturday.
The head coach has always had confidence in the Ecuador international’s ability but wanted to time his exposure to Premier League football.
“Moises has been really impressive. But it's been a strange one because he's played a lot of big games and he's had some really positive experiences with his national team, so it's not like he's coming from nowhere,” said Potter.
Another @AmexUK Player of the Match award for Moises Caicedo! 🏆🇪🇨 pic.twitter.com/Yr2iM0h3fx
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 17, 2022
“We knew his quality. It's just that we started off the season well, he was on loan [with Beerschot in Belgium] and when he came back we were trying to find the right time to play him, the right situation and as it looks now we probably took too long to put him in the team because in the last two games he has been fantastic.
“But his quality has always been there. We've always believed in the player and always believed in what he can do and we’re absolutely delighted with how he's contributed to the team.
“You're not going meet a nicer guy and when you have those two combinations there's a nice story.”
Caicedo is an option for Potter to start in midfield against Manchester City tonight with Yves Bissouma suspended for the next two games for accumulating ten bookings.
Potter has been pleased with his team’s response when key players have been absent this season.
“We've been tested this season with absences, I would say dealing with that is probably the biggest step we've taken. If you'd have said at the start of season we'd be without Lewis Dunk for the time that we've had then I think we'd be really concerned.
“But, actually, the team handled that quite well. Obviously we want Lewis Dunk available and it’s the same with Yves Bissouma – and with all the players.
“But this year more than any I would say we've been tested a lot with that. Adam Webster, Adam Lallana, Danny Welbeck, Tariq Lamptey for different periods, we've had to suffer with that.
“That's what makes where we are now even better. Because for a club of our size you need things to go your way, to make sure that you can keep getting the points in the Premier League.
“Regardless of what we've had to do this year we've managed to keep points ticking over and now we're on 40 with six games to go, so that says a lot for the players.”