Chelsea starlet reveals she played a part in Leicester City’s surprise transfer decision

Leicester City loanee Cesare Casadei has revealed he was partly behind the surprise decision that saw him return to Chelsea in January.

Casadei returned to his parent club midway through the winter window in a move that irked then manager Enzo Maresca for the rest of the season, especially after City failed to sign Stefano Sensi on deadline day. Wilfred Ndidi was ruled out for several months with injury shortly before Casadei’s return to Stamford Bridge, with the young Italian set to play a big part in Maresca’s side.

Although it initially appeared to be a decision solely made by Chelsea, Casadei said he was asked if he wanted to return and did not think twice. The 21-year-old made 11 appearances for Chelsea in the second half of the season, but all as a substitute and for less than 70 minutes combined.

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He felt that even if he would not get the opportunity for much playing time, being surrounded by Premier League players would be beneficial to his career.

“Chelsea is my team and that was my dream, to be able to play for Chelsea,” said Casadei. “Obviously going out on loan is part of the journey but my target has always been to come back here and play for Chelsea.

“They asked me if I was happy to come back and I immediately said yes because my target was to come back here at Chelsea. My goal was to be able to be here, to train every day with the first team.

“I wasn’t really expecting the call – I was just doing my journey with Leicester and I was just trying to focus on that and not think about other things. But when they called, I was very happy and very excited.

“There are so many really good players that I knew I would be able to learn a lot, even though I didn’t have a lot of game time. However, training with them every day makes me improve, for sure.”

Casadei will now be managed again by Maresca after the Italian boss swapped Leicester for London earlier this month. The task now is to bring everything he has learned to the table, including his loan spells with Reading and City, to get more opportunities.

“Football-wise I learned a lot because Reading and then Leicester were my first experiences of real, adult football,” he added. “I needed to be in a group of adults, not young boys. It helped me a lot because there is a different tempo in the game, a different intensity.

“That’s why it’s important to go on loan before you start playing for a team like Chelsea. You need experience in how you play and train and everything else around it.”

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