Chelsea ‘happy’ with UNUSED €20m star, claims Romano

Robin Bairner

• 22 May 2023 07:42 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea star Cesare Casadei is threatening to emerge as one of the stars of the FIFA U20 World Cup in Argentina.

Casadei scored two and assisted two more as Italy overcame Brazil 3-2 in matchday one of Group D.

It was a reminder of the 20-year-old’s talents, with Chelsea having signed him last summer for a fee that could rise to €20 million but was, nevertheless, a basic €15m as he joined from Inter.

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Despite the sizeable fee and the fact that he had been handed a six-year contract, Casadei became something of a forgotten prospect at Chelsea as he failed to even make the bench for the first team in the first six months of the season.

Indeed, he had an inauspicious time with Chelsea’s U21 side as he was sent off on his debut against Sutton United in the EFL trophy and was again dismissed when the young Blues tackled Manchester United in the Premier League 2. However, he would show his promise with the youth team as he scored four goals and created one more in the league.

A move to Reading arrived in January, and although the Royals were relegated from the Championship, Casadei became a regular there, playing 15 games in total.

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Casadei's Chelsea loan 'positive

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are content with the progress of their young star.

The journalist has explained that the Blues were happy to invest up to €20m in the player because they wanted to win a race that involved three other clubs who might have moved for him. He added that Chelsea are “happy” with what they have seen from Casadei this season and feel that his development at Reading was “positive”.

The Chelsea Casadei returns to will be different from the one he departed, with Mauricio Pochettino set to take over from the long-sacked Graham Potter in the weeks ahead.