Cesare Casadei time at Chelsea may be well behind him, but the consequences of that move are still being felt, according to his current Torino manager Roberto D’Aversa.
The Italian midfielder joined Chelsea from Inter Milan as one of the club’s buy-low, develop-and-sell projects, only to spend the majority of his Blues career out on loan before eventually being sold to Torino for a minimal profit. It is a familiar story from Stamford Bridge in recent years, but D’Aversa has been unusually candid about the damage it did to Casadei’s development.
“He is a strong midfielder; he can get all the headers, but he can also play football. He needs consistency. Casadei paid for a crucial move, to Chelsea. He didn’t play, and missed playing at a team where you can grow.”
Those are damning words from his own manager. Chelsea’s loan structure did Casadei few favours, and an early recall from one of those spells only compounded the problem. For context, Andrey Santos experienced a similar trajectory before a productive loan spell at Strasbourg turned things around and earned him a regular spot in Enzo Maresca’s first-team plans. Casadei never quite got that defining loan move.
Everton Transfer Interest in Casadei Grows
Despite the stop-start career path, Casadei is attracting serious Premier League interest. According to TuttoMercatoWeb, Everton are now monitoring the 23-year-old, with Torino reportedly valuing him at a minimum of 15 million euros. He has contributed 4 goals in 16 starts in Serie A this season and his numbers in the physical department are impressive, sitting in the 93rd percentile for duels won. That aerial presence and engine could make him an appealing option for a mid-table side looking to add bite in central midfield.
Whether Everton can meet Torino’s asking price remains to be seen, but the interest signals that Casadei is slowly catching up to the level many expected of him by now. Chelsea, who retain a 25 percent sell-on clause, will be watching developments with interest too.`
