- Chelsea has added continued to bolster their squad with the signing of Italian wonderkid Cesare Casadei.
- According to Fabrizio Romano, a £12.6million deal has been completed with Inter and is due in London imminently to sign a deal.
- Casadei was born and raised in Ravenna in the north of Italy, in January 2003
Chelsea’s summer of spending shows no signs of slowing down as after splashing the cash on Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Gabriel Slonina, and Carney Chukwuemeka, the Blues are back in the market for another huge talent.
The signing of a young wonder kid from Inter is complete according to football transfers expert Fabrizio Romano and the young talent will sign his four-year contract with Chelsea FC.
Here’s everything you need to know about the highly-rated young star.
Who Casadei?
Born in 2003 and raised in the northern town of Italy, Ravenna, Casadei was born when Juventus dominated the Serie A and were running riot against teams in Italy.
The Italian system has produced some exciting central midfielders and Casadei is one of those and looks fit to kickstart life at the English side – Chelsea.
A look at the midfielders that helped Italy EURO 2020 glory included Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, and PSG’s Marco Verratti, but behind these stars, Italy is grooming some talented midfielders in Davide Frattesi, Manuel Locatelli, and Sandro Tonali.
Casadei is among the top young talents in Italy that have been tipped highly to replace household names at the International level.
Having risen to the ranks Casadei caught the eye of Inter Milan’s youth ranks and 2020 was listed in Guardian’s annual Next Generation series back in 2020.
Casadei was born and raised in Ravenna in the north of Italy; Photo/Daily Mail
In the 2019-20 season, Casadei left the mark in outings with the Inter’s Under 17s recording 10 goals in 15 appearances in the Campiatano Nazionale, and has seamlessly stepped up at every level since.
He scored on his Under-19s debut against Sampdoria in January 2020 and scored a towering header with a match-winner against Rennes in his UEFA Youth League debut.
Last term he notched 14 goals and four assists in 30 appearances in the Primavera youth league and was named the division’s best player, developing his game under Under-19s boss Christian Chivu.
That form led to some in the Italian press questioning why Simone Inzaghi was reluctant to hand the teenager his senior debut. He made the bench on one occasion for the Nerazzurri but never made it onto the pitch.
Indeed, the reports that Chelsea was keenly scouting the youngster have since been proven true. Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio stated Thomas Tuchel is “bewitched” by Casadei and his arrival is part of a new transfer strategy implemented by new Blues president Todd Boehly in focusing on youth.
Casadei follows Carney Chukwuemeka and Omari Hutchinson, both born in 2003, and Gabriel Slonina, born in 2004, through the door at Cobham.
Position
He’s been described as a box-to-box midfielder and in what will be music to the ears of all Chelsea fans has drawn comparisons to Frank Lampard thanks to his goalscoring nous and ability to time his runs and arrive late in the penalty area.
He’s been described as a box-to-box midfielder; Photo/Football Talent squad
He’s also been compared to current Serie A midfielders Nicolo Barella and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic due to his explosive bursts forward and powerful presence in the middle of the park.
His Idol
In March this year, the young midfielder appeared in an interview with Italian outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport to answer questions about how he sees his career today and tomorrow.
In the interview, Casadei likened his play to that 0f Lazio’s midfielder Milinkovic-Savic pouring his love for the midfielder’s play.
“I like him [Milinkovic-Savic] a lot for the characteristics he has and for the way he plays, he’s a player from whom I draw inspiration. But to get to those levels you have to work hard,” he said.
The new Chelsea player said while at Inter he draws much of his attention to the club’s midfielders in Barella and Brozovic, he says the intensity and calmness in these players when they have the ball is something he admires most.
“Javier Zanetti [is my idol] for his charisma and strength. But also for his flexibility – he could play in any position.
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