Chelsea confirm the transfer of Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan for £12.6m

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of highly-rated teenage star Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan for £12.6m.

The 19-year-old – considered one of the most exciting talents to emerge from Italy in recent years despite having not yet made his senior debut – has agreed a six-year deal with the Blues.

Inter had already rejected an offer of £6m for the midfielder before eventually agreeing a fee with the Stamford Bridge side earlier this week. The deal could still see Chelsea pay a further £4million in add-ons. 

The highly-rated Italian star, 19, has signed a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge

Despite the high potential in the Italy Under 19 international, he is now expected to feature in Chelsea’s Under 21 side before being introduced into the first team. 

Head of youth development Neil Bath told the club’s website: ‘Cesare is a player we have tracked for some time and we are delighted that he has now agreed to join Chelsea, where he will initially strengthen our Under 21s squad.

‘He is another exciting emerging talent who we are looking forward to seeing develop and progress further as he breaks into senior football in the coming years.’ 

Casadei though is expected to join the Under 21 side before stepping up to the first team

His arrival takes Chelsea’s spending spree up to £191.3million in this summer window

New owner Todd Boehly has splashed the cash at Stamford Bridge this summer, having now spent £191.3m.

The Blues’ spending spree takes into account deals for Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly, Casadei, Gabriel Slonina, Carney Chukwuemeka and Raheem Sterling.

Casadei has been a long term target for Chelsea, who have invested a lot of time in scouting the midfielder.

As well as featuring for the Under 21s, the 19-year-old could also make an instant return to Italy in a bid to further his development and build up first-team football experience.

With Chelsea’s midfield duo of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante now over 30 years old, the Blues have started to build their midfield for the future based off of a ‘Vision 2030’ principal that Boehly is keen on implementing. 

Chukwuemeka’s £20m arrival from Aston Villa earlier in the summer was an indication of that strategy. 

Casadeli is rated highly in his homeland, with Inter’s CEO Beppe Marotta speaking highly of him earlier in the summer.

New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has splashed out on transfers this summer at the Blues

Casadei is seen as one of the most exciting young players to emerge from Italy in recent years

‘Today he’s a young talent’, he said. ‘He still has a long way to go before he can become a top player, but we’re very proud to have him with us.

‘He’s training with the first team, he’s proving to be at a very good level.

‘Right now I can only talk about him in positive terms as he’s above average for his age, and after that a lot depends on him.

‘It will depend how he’s able to map out his future, because apart from the technical qualities, you also have to have the personal ones which are often more important in football.’