Chelsea flop ‘hopeful’ of transfer after broken Maresca promise

Cesare Casadei is hopeful that Chelsea will lower their demands, so that he can leave the club imminently, according to a report.

The Italian wonderkid has had a torrid time at Stamford Bridge since joining from Inter in 2022. Despite promising loans to Reading and Leicester, the 21-year-old has played barely any Premier League football.

In the summer, Casadei was ready to jump ship and even signed with a new agency, but he later revealed that a talk with new boss Enzo Maresca, under whom he thrived at Leicester, convinced him to stay and fight for his place.

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Six months on, however, the head coach has only sparingly used the midfielder and Casadei is now looking to belatedly get out after wasting crucial time in his career.

He has been linked with scores of clubs, but so far, Chelsea’s demands have proved too great.

Casadei desperate to move

Torino have launched a bid in recent times, but it fell below Chelsea’s expectations and was rejected. According to The Athletic, the Blues are demanding a sizeable €20m-€25m for Casadei, making a move to Torino unlikely.

The outlet reports that several other high-profile clubs are keen. Specifically, “two clubs in the top six of Serie A, a top-four club in France and a top-three club in the Netherlands” have all expressed an interest.

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The report also states that “a source close to Casadei is hopeful that Chelsea will lower their demands and that a move can progress over the next few days.”

Lazio have been linked with Casadei, so they are likely one of the two top-six Serie A sides. Milan have also been associated with Casadei, though they currently sit eighth in the standings.

In the Netherlands, table-topping PSV and Feyenoord have been keen on the Italian, although the latter currently find themselves outside the top three, which means that the admirers referred to above probably hail from Eindhoven.