Leicester City are now well-placed to sign a "very exciting" player who wants to leave his current club this January, according to a report.
Difficult period for Leicester
If Leicester fans weren't already concerned about relegation from the Premier League, they could well be after their upcoming fixtures, as they have a difficult run of fixtures on the horizon over the next few weeks.
Leicester's upcoming Premier League fixtures Date
Liverpool (a) December 26th
Manchester City (h) December 29th
Aston Villa (a) January 4th
Crystal Palace (h) January 15th
Fulham (h) January 18th
As such, the Foxes could be perilously close or even inside the bottom three over the next few weeks, meaning Ruud van Nistelrooy may feel he has to strengthen his squad in the upcoming transfer window.
The manager is believed to have identified two key positions which need strengthening in January, namely striker and centre-back, but there may now be an opportunity to sign a player who operates in a different area of the pitch.
Leicester could now re-sign Cesare Casadei
According to a report from SportMediaset, Chelsea are now willing to sell Cesare Casadei, amid a lack of game time at Stamford Bridge, and there is confirmed to have been interest from a number of Serie A sides.
Mozna, Bologna and Lazio have all been in contact over a deal for Casadei, with Fabrizio Romano previously confirming that Serie A is his most likely destination in the January transfer window.
Cesare-Casadei-Chelsea
However, there is now a problem for the Italian clubs, as the Blues are unwilling to sanction a departure for a fee of less than £30m, which is more than they are willing to spend.
The asking price is believed to have scared away the potential suitors, which is where Leicester come in, with the report claiming that he could return to the King Power Stadium.
With Romano confirming the 21-year-old wants to leave his current club this January, the door has potentially been opened for a move back to his former club.
Van Nistelrooy Related
Leicester City lining up double January transfer move for Van Nistelrooy
It could be the key to their Premier League survival.
The Italian made 22 Championship appearances for the Foxes during his previous stint with the club, although only eight of those came as a starter, as there was major competition for the starting spots in midfield.
However, there were promising signs from the youngster during his short spell at the King Power Stadium, most famously netting a late winner against Cardiff City on his debut:
Lauded as a "very exciting" player after scoring a remarkable goal for Chelsea U21s, the starlet is also impressive defensively, ranking in the 80th percentile for interceptions per 90 over the past year, when compared to his positional peers.
Although Casadei didn't set the world alight during his previous spell with Leicester, he was a solid enough player, and a loan move until the end of the season would be a low-risk signing for Van Nistelrooy.