Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea’s Head of Youth Development Neil Bath outlined the plan for Italian talent Cesare Casadei.
The 19-year-old Italian midfielder joined the Blues last week from Inter in a deal worth around €20m total, a seemingly high price for an untested youth prospect. Chelsea have been keeping a close eye on Casadei for a while now and Inter were happy to cash in, keen to avoid losing any first team players.
Speaking to ChelseaTV, Tuchel discussed his initial impressions of Casadei and what his path to the Chelsea first team looks like.
“We need to give him time and not get over excited because I think we wouldn’t do him a favour. He’s a box-to-box midfielder, very strong with his head, very physical for his age.
“But at the moment, it’s important he learns the language, he learns what Chelsea is all about and understands the culture and principles to live and play for Chelsea.
“Then we will try to bring him to first team training and open the doors for him. Then in the end, he needs to step through himself.”
Bath, the Head of Youth Development at the Blues, also spoke highly about the 19-year-old Italian and why he was signed from Inter.
“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.
“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.”
The 19-year-old Casadei was one of the most exciting prospects in the Inter youth system, scoring 14 goals and providing four assists in 30 Primavera 1 appearances last season. He has now signed a six-year contract with Chelsea, underlining their long-term plan for the Italian.
It seems that in Serie A , the clubs have more confidence in nominal foreigners then in young Italian talents. The number of young Italian players being bought by other leagues is quite disturbing. This is not the way to better Serie A and endear Italian fans to the games.
@TonyBono I agree with you there. Too many average foreigner players in Italy that could be replaced by younger Italian players. At least put them on the bench and give them some playing time