Italian side Fiorentina are pushing to sign midfielder Cesare Casadei, but an agreement with Chelsea is still missing according to reports in Italy.
The Blues are currently on their pre-season tour of America as preparations start to ramp up for the new season, with the club facing Wrexham in their first friendly on Wednesday evening.
Casadei wasn’t selected as part of the travelling party for the tour and Chelsea are believed to be open to moving him on whether on loan or permanently.
Fiorentina pushing to sign Casadei
Chelsea signed the Italian from Inter Milan for an initial £12.6m plus £4.2m in add ons in 2022, but the 21-year-old hasn’t had much of a look in at Stamford Bridge.
He spent the first half of the 2022/2023 season with the club’s under-21 side before being loaned out to Reading for the second half of that campaign where he impressed.
Casadei was loaned to Leicester last season where he ironically worked under Enzo Maresca, before we has recalled by the club in January.
![Cesare Casadei in action for Chelsea.](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/03/12151715/GettyImages-2068297842-scaled.jpg)
The midfielder was used sparingly from the bench over the second half of the campaign, and he’s been attracting interest this summer, especially from Italy.
Italian outlet Di Marzio have reported that Fiorentina are pushing to sign Casadei but are yet to agree on a formula for the deal, with the Serie A outfit wanting to sign him on loan.
Given he wasn’t part of the squad for pre-season and the number of options Chelsea have in midfield it’s clear that Casadei’s future lies away from Stamford Bridge.
It’s likely the club would make a profit on the initial £12.6m they paid Inter for his services, and if the right offer comes in it’s clear the club would be open to letting him go.
Casadei isn’t the only youngster who could be leaving this summer with the likes of Alfie Gilchrist, Deivid Washington and Lesley Ugochukwu all expected to leave the club in some capacity during this window.