Albion have been considering a loan move for Moises Caicedo ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline. But Graham Potter has made it clear they like what they see from the Ecuador international. Caicedo was brought into midfield at Cardiff City in midweek and played a huge part in the night’s second goal, calmly converted by Andi Zeqiri. Potter stopped to correct himself when he spoke about Caicedo’s first proper taste of English football. Not because he had any doubts over the value of those 90 minutes in a competitive Carabao Cup contest.
Graham Potter said: “He has had to be patient. He came in halfway through the season, which is never easy to do. Obviously this season he missed a bit with his involvement in the Copa America. We like him, really believe in him. It’s about finding the right pathway for him in terms of into the first team. The other night would have been important for him, just to face a British football game. That was important for him to just feel that and then of course we need to make a decision in terms of what the next steps for him are. Whether it’s closer to our first team, whether it’s a possible loan move. We will see, we will make the right call there. But we believe in him a lot.”
That answer clearly suggested a loan move was being looked at. Asked for confirmation of that,
Graham Potter replied: “As I have said with quite a lot of players, you have got to make the right decision in terms of whether we have got cover enough to make sure we are competitive in the games. Then, with each individual, assess what the right thing for them to do is in terms of if there is an opportunity where we can significantly speed up their development. As we have seen with Ben (White), it’s a way for the guys to be in our first team, it’s a way for the guys to develop themselves. So it’s something you can’t rule out but, equally, he could be in our first team in a couple of weeks. That’s the beauty of football. You never know!”
Caicedo’s debut at Cardiff was noted by media back home, including a tweet from the club which described him as the “machine in midfield.” That is not surprising. Even his games as an unused sub have been diligently reported. He will miss three World Cup qualifiers over the next fortnight against Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay with Premier League clubs not releasing their internationals who would have been heading to countries on the Government’s red list. Whether that means his next stop is Brentford – or somewhere else on loan – remains to be seen. If he is still around, there could be a home date with more Welsh opposition in the form of Swansea in the third round of the Carabao Cup. It means Potter takes on the club he used to manage – and that is something he will look forward to when it draws closer.
Graham Potter said: “It’s a home tie for us which is important at this stage. We’ve got three Premier League games before then so I haven’t given it too much thought.But I am looking forward to seeing some really good people because it’s a fantastic football club, Swansea. I had a really enjoyable year there and it would be good to see some familiar faces.”
