Chelsea youngster Cesare Casadei has risen from relative obscurity in the last 6 months, and is now looking like the player that the Blues thought they were buying a year ago.
After 6 months playing in the development squad he went out on loan in January and joined relegation battling Reading in the Championship – a real baptism of fire in senior football.
He then stepped up again from there to the U20 World Cup in Argentine where he has driven Italy to the final, becoming the tournament’s top scorer (as a central midfielder!) along the way.
Now stories in places like Calcio Mercato in his native Italy are reporting that he’s a loan target for Premier League teams like Aston Villa and Brighton next season.
The Seagulls are an interesting prospect – they’re about to lose their dynamic attack minded midfielder in the form of Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool, and their Italian manger Roberto De Zerbi would be a great choice to develop Casadei as his replacement.