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| Cesare Casadei of FC Internazionale in action during the FC Internazionale training session at the club’s training ground Suning Training Center at Appiano Gentile on August 10, 2022 in Como, Italy. |
Chelsea are
set to land Inter Milan youngster Cesare Casadei in a £12m deal, according to
reports.
Chelsea have held extensive talks to sign the 19-year-old this
summer and two offers have already been rejected by Inter but the
third, worth £12m, is likely to be accepted.
It had been thought
that Chelsea might miss out due to interest from French club Nice, who would be
more likely to offer Casadei regular playing time, but The Guardian are now reporting that the Blues are set
to win the race for his signature.
Casadei is yet to make
his senior debut for Inter but the midfielder is widely regarded as one of the
brightest young prospects in Italy.
Inter had been holding
out for a £20m fee for Casadei and also wanted the option to sign him back from
Chelsea in the next few years.
But Chelsea are
unwilling to allow Inter to have a buy back clause as they view Casadei as a
key part of their future plans.
Casadei has been
extensively scouted by Chelsea’s academy chief Neil Bath and the club are
hopeful of securing a deal after the £20m signing of Aston Villa midfielder
Carney Chukwuemeka earlier in the window.
When asked about
Casadei’s future this summer, Inter’s CEO Beppe Marotta said: ‘Today he’s a
young talent. He still has a long way to go before he can become a top player,
but we’re very proud to have him with us.
‘He’s training with the
first team, he’s proving to be at a very good level.‘Right now I can only
talk about him in positive terms as he’s above average for his age, and after
that a lot depends on him.‘It will depend how
he’s able to map out his future, because apart from the technical qualities,
you also have to have the personal ones which are often more important in
football.’
It has been a busy
summer for Chelsea, who have also signed Marc Cucurella, Raheem Sterling and
Kalidou Koulibaly.
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