Cesare Casadei has revealed that it was his decision to stay at Chelsea this summer and said he couldn’t be more proud to play for the club.
Casadei has very much been a bit part player since he joined the Blues from Inter Milan in 2022 and he’s subsequently had loan spells at both Reading and Leicester, where he worked under now manager Enzo Maresca.
The Italian is going to struggle to get minutes in the Premier League and the cup competitions represent his best chance of match action.
Casadei wanted to stay at Chelsea this summer
Casadei got his first action of the season as he started in the 5-0 win against Barrow in the Carabao Cup and he could feature in the Europa Conference League against Gent on Thursday night.
Some might be surprised that the 21-year-old is still at the club as he was expected to be one of the players that would move on, but he revealed in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Gent game that it was decision to remain at the club this summer.
“It was my decision [to stay and not go out on loan],” he told reporters as cited on X.com.
“The last season was not easy for me. I was thinking what was the best solution for me. But the moment I spoke to the manager, I was 100% sure the decision to stay would be best for me.
“I never had the idea to [leave] permanently. I spoke with the manager, he told me what he thinks, I had no doubt.
“I always wanted to play for Chelsea, one of the biggest teams in the world. I could not be more proud to play for Chelsea.”
Competition for places in midfield is fierce and Casadei’s chances of getting regular minutes at Stamford Bridge are slim, and perhaps it would have been better to go out on loan to get more regular minutes to help his development.
If Casadei continues to not feature much then you can imagine it’s certainly a situation Chelsea will revisit in the January window.
