Chelsea confirm signing of Cesare Casadei from Inter

Chelsea have completed the signing of Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei from Inter on a permanent deal.

The 19-year-old, who is yet to play a minute of senior football, impressed at this summer’s European Under-19 Championships opposite England’s Carney Chukwuemeka, who joined Chelsea for around £20m earlier this window.

Casadei has now followed suit, putting pen to paper on a six-year contract in a deal which 90min understands is worth an initial €15m, plus a further €5m in add-ons.

“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,” said head of youth development Neil Bath.

“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 was a regular part of training sessions with Inter’s first team last season and even made it to the bench for a Serie A clash with Sassuolo, having established himself as one of the club’s top young prospects.

While training with the seniors, Casadei turned out for Inter’s development side last season, racking up 14 goals and four assists in 30 league games, as well as adding two goals in seven UEFA Youth League outings.

He now joins a Chelsea Under-21 side that has already bolstered through the signing of highly rated Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal, while Chukwuemeka is expected to split his time between the first team and the Under-21 setup.