Chelsea
Premier League • England
Chelsea facing TWO problems in offloading £21m midfielder as player’s preference revealed
Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei
Chelsea are ready to offload one of their young midfielders in the January transfer window but the Blues are not getting any joy with clubs not willing to pay the transfer fee that they are looking for, TEAMtalk understands, with a Dutch outfit already abandoning their pursuit.
One of the clubs that are very active in the January transfer window are Chelsea. While the London outfit are trying to sign Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United and have been in contact over a deal for Bayern Munich star Mathys Tel, they are also looking to offload Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Another player that Chelsea are ready to sell in the January transfer window is Cesare Casadei. TEAMtalk has previously reported that the Blues are ready to part company with the 22-year-old midfielder this month, and that stance has not changed.
However, we understand that Chelsea are struggling to offload Casadei, whom they signed for an initial £12.6m from Inter Milan in the summer of 2022.
While there is interest in the young midfielder, there is a gap between what the Blues want for the Italy Under-21 international and how much clubs are willing to pay for him.
TEAMtalk reported Lazio’s interest in Casadei earlier this week, and while the Italian club are still in the race, we understand that they have not made an increased offer for the youngster despite recent reports.
Lazio are willing to increase the percentage on a future sell-on clause, but they cannot afford to go beyond that. However, that is far from what Chelsea are looking for Casadei.
The Premier League club want €25m (£21m / $26.3m) or a lower initial fee with a sell-on clause to help them reach that sum. As we earlier reported on TEAMtalk, that is still too much for Lazio president Claudio Lotito to pay.
Torino are also keen on a deal for Casadei, but, just like Italian rivals Lazio, they cannot afford to pay the asking price.
The Serie A club have already made an offer of €10m (£8.4m / $10.5m) and are ready to include a high sell-on clause.
Torino are ready to wait until the final days of the January transfer window before making a final bid. I Granata are hoping that Chelsea will lower their demands towards the end of the window.
TEAMtalk understands that Casadei’s preference, if he were to leave Chelsea this month, would be to move to a club in Italy.
Offloading Casadei in January is also made complicated by the fact that Chelsea have taken up their loan slots.
This means that selling the former Inter prospect in the January transfer window is the only way to do a deal, which is not very appealing to Italian clubs.
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Feyenoord abandon Cesare Casadei pursuit
TEAMtalk understands that Feyenoord have also shown interest in signing Casadei in the January transfer window.
The Eredivisie club have asked for information on the Italian midfielder, but after learning of Chelsea’s demands, they have backed away.
Sources have told us that Casadei has expressed a stronger interest in returning to Italy than moving to the Eredivisie.
The midfielder’s preference to play in Serie A is another reason why Feyenoord have decided to abandon negotiations, realising that they would find it complicated to agree personal terms with the youngster.
Latest Chelsea news: Garnacho – Nkunku swap, Fernandez exit
Chelsea and Manchester United are in talks over a swap deal. While the Blues want Garnacho, Man Utd are keen on Christopher Nkunku.
Reports have claimed that talks between the two clubs over a player-swap deal are getting serious.
Nkunku wants to play in the number 10 role and is willing to leave Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window, with Chelsea ready to sell him for £60-70m.
Chelsea are determined to sign Garnacho, but the London club are facing competition from Napoli. However, a swap deal could suit both the Blues and the Red Devils.
Enzo Maresca’s side are also about to sign Dastan Satpaev. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported that Chelsea have agreed a deal for the Kazakh teenager with Kairat Almaty.
Satpaev will not join up with the Chelsea squad right now, though. The striker will move to Stamford Bridge only in 2026 when he turns 18.
Meanwhile, Chelsea could get an offer from Real Madrid for Argentina international midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Reports in Spain have claimed that Madrid are keen on offloading Aurelien Tchouameni in the January transfer window and believe that Chelsea would take him.
The defending Spanish and European champions are ready to send Tchouameni to Chelsea and bring Fernandez to the Santiago Bernabeu in a direst player-swap deal.