Chelsea close to winning race for young Inter midfielder Cesare Casadei

Chelsea are close to winning the race to sign Internazionale’s highly-rated midfielder Cesare Casadei.

Nice have also targeted Casadei, but it is understood that Chelsea are pushing to complete the signing of the 19-year-old this week. The Stamford Bridge club have already had two bids rejected for the youngster and are expected to be successful with their third offer, which could be as much as £12m.

The pursuit of Casadei is further evidence of Chelsea’s determination to bolster the young talent on their books. This summer they have signed the 18-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire and have bought the 18-year-old midfielder Carney Chuwuemeka from Aston Villa for £20m. They are also interested in the Palmeiras prodigy, Endrick, though the Brazilian is being courted by many of Europe’s top clubs.

It is unclear if Chelsea are planning for Casadei to go into their first team immediately. Thomas Tuchel has plenty of competition in midfield, so Casadei could be placed into the development squad at first. An alternative would be to send him back on loan to Serie A.

However, Chelsea do need to make plans to freshen up their midfield options. N’Golo Kanté and Jorginho are both out of contract next year. Kanté excelled during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday, but the Frenchman is 31 and is facing another spell on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury.

Chelsea are also understood to be considering whether to bid for the Everton winger Anthony Gordon. Tuchel is interested in Gordon, but Everton are adamant that the 21-year-old is not for sale.

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