Cesare Casadei makes transfer call as Chelsea ready ‘final decision’ amid Leicester & Juventus interest

Chelsea are planning where Cesare Casadei will play his football next season ahead of his return to Cobham for pre-season.

The 20-year-old represented Italy at the U20 World Cup earlier this month, which saw him collect the Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot award despite defeat in the final, after spending the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Championship side Reading.

Casadei‘s performances have seen him attract interest from across Europe, with Juventus the most high profile club expressing admiration in the Italian who arrived from Inter Milan last summer.

He will be hoping to be given the chance to impress new head coach Mauricio Pochettino before a final decision is made on his future.

Watford have been linked with the midfielder, while Leicester City have expressed interest, with new boss Enzo Maresca, formerly of Manchester City, keen on the youngster.

On Casadei’s £12 million move to Chelsea, Maresca told Sky Italia: “The problem isn’t so much that foreign clubs buy young Italian players, it’s that they are not given a chance to play in Italy.”

However, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, Casadei is not planning to move to a Championship side for the 2023/24 season.

Ideally, Casadei wants to play in the Premier League or Serie A next season, offering Juventus, who have linked, a glimpse of hope of acquiring him for the upcoming campaign.

Casadei has had four proposals from Championship clubs, but the priority is to move to a top-flight league to step up his development. A final decision will be made together with Chelsea.

Chelsea’s plan to bring the best youngsters to the club are continuing to come to fruition following the signings of Alex Matos from Norwich City and Diego Moreira from Benfica.