Enzo Maresca is expected to sanction Cesare Casadei’s exit next month (Image: Getty)
Part of ‘s January remit will involve finding game time for those starved of minutes under .
Cesare Casadei falls into that category, having only played in the and this season despite enjoying regular football at last campaign. Thankfully for the Blues, finding a destination for the 21-year-old is unlikely to be an arduous task, and his loan exit seems almost certain.
A host of sides are reportedly lining up to sign Casadei in January. The Italian U21 international spent four years in ‘s academy but he has never played a minute of senior football in his homeland.
Casadei’s stellar reputation from his time in Inter’s youth ranks means he retains plenty of Italian admirers. And indicate that no fewer than seven clubs have expressed an interest in taking him on for the remainder of the season.
Lazio, AC Milan, Como, Genoa, Fiorentina and Torino are all believed to be in the running, while Monza are said to be in advanced talks with . Maresca is set to put his head together with senior figures at Stamford Bridge to determine where would be best for Casadei’s development.
are already well-stocked with talent in the middle of the park. Healthy competition between Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez has put Maresca in an enviable position, although others have been left to feed off scraps.
Cesare Casadei has played no Premier League football for Chelsea this season (Image: Getty)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – a summer signing from Leicester – has only played 56 minutes in the this term, while Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka have not seen any action aside from cup games.
All three could seek out first-team opportunities in January. Maresca already has sufficient depth to field two entirely different line-ups, with the likes of and Wesley Fofana left out of his European squad entirely in an effort to manage workload.
Ben Chilwell and Deivid Washington could also be offloaded this January after finding themselves on the fringes, and Christopher Nkunku is said to be unsettled by his back-up role behind Nicolas Jackson.
Competition will only increase at the end of the season, when prepare to welcome two prodigious teenagers. Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez – both 17 – are still pulling up trees in South America and they could make a push to go straight into Maresca’s starting XI in 2025/26.