Cesare Casadei

Cesare Casadei (born 10 January 2003) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Reading, on loan from Chelsea, and the Italian under-21 national team.

Cesare Casadei
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-01-10) 10 January 2003
Place of birth Ravenna, Italy[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Reading
(on loan from Chelsea)
Number 20
Youth career
Cervia
Cesena
2018–2022 Inter Milan
2022–2023 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023– Chelsea 0 (0)
2023– → Reading (loan) 15 (1)
International career‡
2018–2019 Italy U16 9 (2)
2019 Italy U17 1 (1)
2021 Italy U18 1 (1)
2021–2022 Italy U19 10 (3)
2022– Italy U20 2 (1)
2022– Italy U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2023

Club career

Early life and Inter Milan

Born in Ravenna and growing up in Milano Marittima, Casadei started playing football at Cervia before joining Cesena.[2][3][4] In 2018, after the latter club faced bankruptcy, the midfielder moved to Inter Milan, where he quickly came through the youth ranks, winning a national Under-17 championship in 2019 and rising to the Under-19 squad while still being only seventeen.[3]

In October 2021, he was included in The Guardian's yearly "Next Generation" list, featuring the highest-rated prospects born in 2003.[5][6] The following year, Casadei received his first call-ups to Inter Milan's first team, while contributing to the U19's final victory in the Campionato Primavera 1.[3][7][8]

Chelsea

On 19 August 2022, it was announced that Chelsea had agreed a deal with Inter Milan for the signing of Cesare Casadei on a six-year contract.[9] His transfer fee was reported to be in the range of 15 million euros, plus 5 million euros in add-ons.[8][9]

Casadei was included in the U21 team, and on 31 August he made his debut against Sutton United, losing 1–0 in an EFL Trophy match and being red carded.[10] Four days later, he made his Premier League 2 debut, when he scored a 48th-minute goal to make it 2–0 against Everton U21.[11]

Loan to Reading

On 30 January 2023, Casadei was loaned to Championship side Reading until the end of the season.[12][13][14] He went on to make his full professional debut on 4 February, starting in a 2–2 league draw against Watford.[15] He scored his first goal for the club on 15 March 2023 in a 2–1 loss at Blackburn Rovers.[16]

International career

Casadei has represented Italy at almost all youth international levels, from the Under-16 to the Under-21 national team.[1][17]

In June 2022, he was included in the squad that took part in the UEFA Under-19 European Championship in Slovakia,[18] where Italy reached the semi-finals before getting knocked out by eventual champions England.

On 19 November 2022, he made his debut for the Italy U21 squad in a friendly match lost 4–2 against Germany.

In December 2022, he was involved in a training camp led by the Italian senior national team's manager, Roberto Mancini, and aimed to the most promising national talents.[19]

In May 2023, he was included by head coach Carmine Nunziata in the Italian squad that took part in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.[20]

Style of play

Rated as one of the most promising Italian talents of his generation, Casadei has been described as a well-rounded and modern midfielder, who excels both physically and technically.[2][5][6] He can play on both sides in a three, four or five-man midfield trio, but also as an attacking midfielder, or even in the holding role.[3][9] Mainly a right-footed player, he's still quite comfortable with his weaker foot, too.[6]

Despite being quite tall and having a slight valgus deformity, he is elegant and comfortable on the ball, whether he is passing it or carrying it, while also showing good pace and coordination.[5][6] Thanks to his off-the-ball movement, his intelligence and his abilities in shooting and heading, he can get himself many chances to score.[17][5][6] Defensively, he tends to dive into tackles and press the opponents, while also using his body to duel with opponents or defend the ball.[6]

Due to his skills, he has been compared to Massimo Ambrosini and Sergej Milinković-Savić,[9] although he cited Nicolò Barella, Marcelo Brozović, Radja Nainggolan, Javier Zanetti and Federico Valverde as sources of inspiration.[9][21]

Personal life

Cesare's brother, Ettore, is also a footballer: as of 2022, he plays for the soccer team of the Florida Institute of Technology.[7][22]

Career statistics

Club
As of 8 May 2023[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea U23 2022–23 ————4[lower-alpha 1]141
Reading (loan) 2022–23 Championship 1510000—00151
Career total 15100000041191
  1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Inter Milan U17

  • Campionato Nazionale Under-17 Serie A e B: 2019[3]

Inter Milan U19

References
  1. Cesare Casadei at WorldFootball.net
  2. "Cesare Casadei, un diamante per il centrocampo dell'Inter" [Cesare Casadei, a diamond for Inter midfield]. lagiovaneitalia.net (in Italian). 12 January 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  3. Gioacchino Graziuso, Luca (24 December 2021). "Cesare Casadei, il gioiellino dell'Inter Primavera: è l'MVP di dicembre" [Cesare Casadei, the jewel of Inter Primavera: it is the MVP of December]. numero-diez.com (in Italian). Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  4. Horncastle, James. "Meet Chelsea's new signing Cesare Casadei, the free-scoring 19-year-old No 8 from Inter". The Athletic. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  5. Christenson, Marcus (7 October 2021). "Next Generation 2021: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  6. Sessa, Francesco (25 April 2022). "Casadei, il baby Milinkovic dell'Inter: "Intenso come Barella e sereno come Brozo, così imparo dai campioni"" [Casadei, Inter's baby Milinkovic: "Intense like Barella and serene like Brozo, that's how I learn from the champions"]. gazzetta.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 May 2022. (subscription required)
  7. "#CESENASTORIES, 18^ puntata. Ettore Casadei, gol&piadina" [#CESENASTORIES, 18th episode. Ettore Casadei, goals & piadina]. sport.sky.it (in Italian). 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  8. "Chelsea sign Italy youth international Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  9. "Casadei joins Chelsea". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  10. "Esordio da dimenticare per Casadei con il Chelsea U21: espulsione per l'ex Inter | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  11. "Esordio 'shock' alle spalle: primo goal col Chelsea U21 per Casadei | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  12. "Casadei joins Reading on loan". chelseafc.com. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  13. "Cesare Casadei completes loan switch to Reading". Reading FC. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  14. "Reading sign midfielder Casadei from Chelsea". BBC Sport. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  15. "Reading come back to earn Watford point". BBC Sport. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  16. "Blackburn 2-1 Reading". BBC. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  17. Carzaniga, Dennis (8 September 2021). "Italia Under 19, Casadei protagonista anche in Azzurro: il centrocampista dell'Inter a segno nel 3-0 sull'Olanda" [Italy Under 19, Casadei also protagonist in Azzurro: the Inter midfielder scores 3-0 against the Netherlands]. sprintesport.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  18. "Gli Azzurrini in Slovacchia alla conquista dell'Europa. Ufficializzata la lista dei 20 convocati, non ci sono Gnonto e Scalvini". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 16 June 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  19. "Stage a Coverciano dal 20 al 22 dicembre, convocati due gruppi di calciatori di interesse nazionale". FIGC (in Italian). 15 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  20. "Ufficializzata la lista dei 21 convocati per il Mondiale in Argentina" (in Italian). FIGC. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  21. Di Chiaro, Michael (26 March 2023). "Casadei sul calcio inglese: "E' differente, si gioca con grande intensità"". Goal.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  22. "Ettore Casadei". floridatechsports.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  23. Cesare Casadei at Soccerway
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