Cesare Casadei
Cesare Casadei
Cesare Casadei has had an up and down few years and Chelsea have now been criticised for their treatment of the Italian.
The midfielder joined the Blues in 2022 and had consecutive loans at Leicester City and Reading.
Despite playing under Enzo Maresca at Leicester, he didn’t feature much under the Italian for the Blues.
This led to his Chelsea exit in January 2025, as he joined Torino on a permanent deal. Things have been better for him in Serie A, and he’s scored four goals this season.
Sport Witness have covered that Casadei could be in line for a return to England, with West Ham and Everton interested.
However, there’s still an Italian assumption he moved to England – and particularly Chelsea – too early.
D’Aversa takes aim at Chelsea
Torino manager Roberto D’Aversa spoke to Sky Italia about the midfielder, who featured against Pisa on Sunday.
The Italian explained that Casadei is still inconsistent and his Chelsea spell is one reason.
He said – viaFCInter1908:“Cesare Casadei is a strong midfielder, he can get all the headers, but he’s also someone who knows how to play football.
“He first needs to find consistency. He paid for a crucial move, the one to Chelsea, where he didn’t play, and he missed playing at a team where you can grow.”
D’Aversa used this argument to say that Italian football should be able to keep youngsters. Failure to do that hampers their development.
“Until the culture changes, coaches who develop young players aren’t highlighted, but coaches who win are questioned if they don’t. Young players need time.
“They need to be allowed to grow and make mistakes.
“I was lucky enough to coach Kulusevski, who was coming out of the Atalanta Primavera, and I was lucky enough to coach Bastoni.
“They’re young but they’re strong. But if we don’t change the culture in Italy, it’s difficult to find the courage to let young players play.”
Chelsea not the only problem
It is fair to say the Blues probably never had a concrete plan for Casadei.
He was signed for€15m but never had prominence, despite having impressed so much at the U20s World Cup in 2023.
At the same time, Italian football has its own problems. That is why Casadei saw Stamford Bridge as a good idea for his development.
Serie A clubs usually don’t have a reliable youth setup. Due to the financial situation of the game in Italy, they are much happier selling those players for capital gains.
This is what Inter Milan did with Casadei, thus hindering his development.
That is why D’Aversa is probably right in his judgement that the problem, in this case, goes beyond Chelsea.