Chelsea didn’t buy any players in January (slightly against expectations) but they did make a few moves, including recalling Cesare Casadei from his loan at Leicester.
It was a slightly odd move given he had broken into the team there and was really hitting some form. Now he’s back sitting on the bench, just at a different club. We’ve seen him once, as a sub, since he came back.
In his press conference today, Mauricio Pochettino admitted it had been a hard decision to take, for those exact reasons:
“I think it was a tough decision because he was playing at Leicester and we didn’t want to cut his development,” the coach explained.
“But with the injuries to Lavia and Ugochukwu, it was needed. If you see the squad, it’s only Enzo and Moises, and Conor, and then not another real midfielder.”
If anything, it’s a worrying reminder than we’re probably not going to see Romeo Lavia or Lesley Ugochukwu much – if at all – this season.
Still, there’s plenty Casadei can contribute in training, and perhaps he sees this as a big chance to impress his manager up close. We won’t be able to really judge the decision until we look back in the future.
