Italy youth international Cesare Casadei has completed a move to Chelsea from Inter Milan on a six-year deal, the London club have confirmed. The Blues paid a 15 million euro fee upfront for the 19-year-old and an additional five million in add-ons. The player will join the development side but with one eye on a future with the first team.
Casadei becomes the latest high-potential individual Chelsea have signed this summer as part of their new transfer policy; the club has also completed deals for Omari Hutchinson, Carney Chukwuemeka, Tyler Dibling, Zack Sturge, Eddie Beach, and Gabriel Slonina as part of the same.
“Cesare is a player we have tracked for some time and we are delighted that he has now agreed to join Chelsea, where he will initially strengthen our Under-21s squad.
He is another exciting emerging talent who we are looking forward to seeing develop and progress further as he breaks into senior football in the coming years,”
said Neil Bath, the head of Chelsea youth development of Casadei.
The youngster started his career in Emilia-Romagna-based with local side Cervia, before joining the much more renowned, former Serie A outfit, Cesena.
Inter Milan spotted his talents soon after, and, in 2018, he joined the Nerazzurri’s youth set-up, where he would make a name for himself as one of Italy’s top prospects over the next four years. Between 2018 and 2022, the midfielder also made several appearances for the Azzurri’s youth teams, all the way from the U16s to the U19s.
Overall, Casadei becomes Chelsea’s tenth new arrival this summer. The Blues have signed Kalidou Koulibaly, Raheem Sterling, and Marc Cucurella for the first team and are not done yet; reports suggest that they will attempt late moves for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Wesley Fofana, and Frenkie de Jong.
