Is Cesare Casadei the next Frank Lampard? Thomas Tuchel has his say
Cameron Smith
- 20 Aug 2022 15:56 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has weighed in on the comparisons between his club's new midfielder signing Cesare Casadei and Blues legend Frank Lampard.
Despite playing as a midfielder for the entirety of his career, Lampard, 44, is Chelsea's all-time record goal-scorer with 211 strikes for the Stamford Bridge side.
He broke Bobby Tamblin's record in 2013, when he netted his 202nd and 203rd goals for Chelsea against Aston Villa at Villa Park. The former England international eventually left the Blues in 2014 after spending 13 years at the club.
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He's now taken up a career in management, and is now head coach at Everton after being sacked by Chelsea in 2021. His replacement at Stamford Bridge was the aforementioned Tuchel, who has had his say on the comparisons that have been made between Casadei and Lampard.
What has Tuchel said?
The comparisons between Chelsea's new arrival and their club legend have been made by both pundits and fans, who have likened Casadei's ability to arrive late in the box and score goals to the play-style Lampard made famous during his Blues career.
However, this hasn't impressed the Chelsea boss. Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United, Tuchel was asked about Casadei, who has arrived at Chelsea from Inter Milan for an upfront fee of €15 million, with a further €5m in add-ons.
Frank Lampard is moving to Chelsea...
Well, the 'Italian Frank Lampard' is 😁
Cesare Casadei is a HUGE talent 🔥https://t.co/TDmRZobGW8— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 16, 2022
The German replied: "I think we are not doing him a big favour if we say he will be the new Lampard. Yesterday I met him here at the sports centre, we will give him time to learn the language, the culture, to understand what Chelsea is.
"Once he is settled, we will give him the opportunity to train with us and to show his qualities; then I will have a clearer picture of him and we will see."
Rather than Tuchel, it was mainly Chelsea's head of youth development Neil Bath who played a role in the acquisition of Casadei, who didn't play a single Serie A game for Inter.
But, the 19-year-old scored 17 goals in Inter's academy sides last campaign and is one of several young signings Chelsea have made this summer. Carney Chukweumeka, Gabriel Slonina, Zak Sturge and Tyler Dibling are among the teenagers that the Blues have purchased this window as Todd Boehly looks to the future as well as improving the current first-team squad.
