Cesare Casadei was signed around the same time as Carney Chukwuemeka last summer, but with much less fanfare.
Chukwuemeka was already making Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, while Casadei had still only played in the youth team, so perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising. But in the last 6 months, only one has been making headlines, and that’s the young Italian.
While Carney suffered a wasted season on the bench for the first team, Casadei had 6 months settling in before he went to Reading on loan. But it’s in the last few weeks at the U20 World Cup where he’s really exploded, outshining Chukwuemeka with England and even Andrey Santos with Brazil.
He opened the scoring last night as Italy beat South Korea last night, making himself the tournament’s top scorer.
After helping his country reach the final, the kid’s record reads 6 games, 7 goals, 2 assists. Those are ridiculous numbers, and he’s a shoo in for player of the tournament if Italy beat Uruguay in the final. He’s a monster in the air and sniffs out a second ball like a poacher. He’s physical and technical and full of confidence as a real leader in this young Azzuri side.
If he goes on loan next season, it’s going to be to somewhere a lot more impressive than a team battling relegation from the Championship. Casadei is 20, Chukwuemeka and Santos 19. We’ve got some midfield on our hands if they fulfil their enormous potential.
