Chelsea agree to fee for Inter Milan’s Cesare Casadei
Chelsea have agreed a €15m deal with Inter Milan for promising midfielder Cesare Casadei. The transfer would see this figure rise to €20 million with add-ons included.
Casadei joins the slew of youngsters who have signed on with the Blues this summer as Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital prepare for the future. Chelsea have already snapped up Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire, Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa and Omari Hutchinson from cross-city rivals Arsenal.
While Slonina remains with the Fire on loan, Chukwuemeka featured in Chelsea’s development squad’s defeat to Fulham, a match that also saw the likes of Ben Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah earn valuable game time. Hutchinson, meanwhile, is now a regular across the front three for the youth side.
Casadei, posing a solid frame at 6 ft 1 inch, is a prodigious box-to-box midfielder capable of scoring some spectacular goals and playing at a high intensity, a trait Thomas Tuchel seeks in the squad he has been constructing.
Although Casadei has not made a single appearance for Inter Milan, he’s widely appreciated by the Chelsea camp according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 19-year-old is set to sign a six-year contract with Chelsea, but it’ll be interesting to see where he slots in, given the stiff competition for places in central midfield. According to reports, he’ll be in London within the next 48 hours for his medical.
Chelsea managed to fend off interest from OGC Nice and Sassuolo for his signature. Having done so shrewdly, they have now taken the expenditure this summer to about £193.3m on transfers.
It doesn’t look like they’re done yet. The Blues are reportedly ready to make Wesley Fofana the most expensive defender in the world and are also linked with moves for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Everton’s Anthony Gordon.
On the other side of the spectrum, Callum Hudson-Odoi could leave on loan, whereas Ross Barkley, Emerson and Ethan Ampadu among others could see the end of their Chelsea careers.
-Akarshak Roy
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak