Cesare Casadei (born 10 January 2003) is an Italian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. Casadei played youth football with various Italian clubs before moving from

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

to Chelsea in 2022. He was sent on loan in January 2023 and made his professional debut with

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. He then joined Leicester City on loan for the 2023–24 season. He was then recalled from his loan in January 2024. Representing Italy in various youth levels, Casadei received the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot awards in the

2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 23rd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth Association football, football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since i ...

Club career

Early life and Inter Milan

Born in

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

and growing up in Milano Marittima, Casadei started playing football at

Cervia Cervia () is a seaside resort town in the province of Ravenna, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Cervia is a major seaside resort in Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Its population was 28,983 at the 2023 census. It is mainly ...

before joining

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

. In 2018, after the latter club faced

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, the midfielder moved to

, 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. In October 2021, he was included in ''

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s yearly "Next Generation" list, featuring the highest-rated prospects born in 2003. The following year, Casadei received his first call-ups to Inter's first team, while contributing to the U19s' final victory in the

Campionato Primavera 1 Campionato Primavera 1, known also as Campionato Primavera 1 TIM – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti due to sponsorship and posthumous honour, is an Italian football youth competition. It was created in 2017–18 season by splitting Campionato Nazion ...

Chelsea

Chelsea U21

On 19 August 2022, it was announced that Chelsea had agreed a deal with

for the signing of Cesare Casadei on a six-year contract. His transfer fee was reported to be in the range of €15 million, plus €5 million in add-ons. Casadei was included in the U21 team, and on 31 August he made his debut against

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

, losing 1–0 in an

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match and being red carded. Four days later, he made his

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of Football in England, English youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Th ...

debut, when he scored a 48th-minute goal to make it 2–0 against Everton U21. On 22 November, he scored a long-distance goal in a 4–2 away win against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

senior team in the

second round; the goal was also voted as Chelsea's Goal of the Month. He scored a total of five goals in 13 appearances for Chelsea U21 in all competitions.

Loan to Reading

On 30 January 2023, Casadei was loaned to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

until the end of the season. He went on to make his full professional debut on 4 February, starting in a 2–2 league draw against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 15 March 2023 in a 2–1 loss at

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. He was a part of the team that eventually suffered relegation to

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at the end of the 2022–23 campaign.

Loan to Leicester City

On 15 August 2023, Casadei was loaned to

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

side

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club four days later, coming on as a substitute for

Wilfred Ndidi Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi (born 16 December 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Leicester City and the Nigeria national team. Ndidi is known for his defensive ability and intelligence. Club ca ...

in the 62nd minute of a league game against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, in which he went on to score the 2–1 winning goal in the 92nd minute of the match.

Return to Chelsea

On 19 January 2024, Casadei was recalled by Chelsea from his loan at Leicester. He made his debut for the Blues coming on as a late substitute for

Cole Palmer Cole Jermaine Palmer (born 6 May 2002) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and the England national football te ...

in the side's 1–4 away defeat to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the Premier League on 31 January 2024.

Torino

On 2 February 2025, Casadei signed for

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

International career

Casadei has represented

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

at almost all youth international levels, from the Under-16 to the Under-21 national team. In June 2022, he was included in the squad that took part in the UEFA Under-19 European Championship in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, where Italy reached the semi-finals before getting knocked out by eventual champions

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In December 2022, he was involved in a training camp led by the Italian senior national team's manager,

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for h ...

, and aimed to the most promising national talents. In May 2023, he was included in the Italian squad that took part in the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

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. Having helped Italy reach the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, as the ''Azzurrini'' eventually lost to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, he received both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot awards, as the most valuable player and the top scorer of the tournament with 7 goals. In March 2025 he was called up to the senior Italy squad for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League quarter-final matches against

on 20 and 23 March 2025.

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 In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, who excels both physically and technically. He can play on both sides in a three, four or five-man midfield trio, but also as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, or even in the holding role. Mainly a right-footed player, he's still quite comfortable with his weaker foot, too. Despite being quite tall and having a slight

valgus deformity A valgus deformity is a condition in which the bone segment distal to a joint is angled outward, that is, angled laterally, away from the body's midline. The opposite deformation, where the twist or angulation is directed medially, toward the ...

, he is elegant and comfortable on the ball, whether he is passing it or carrying it, while also showing good pace and coordination. Thanks to his off-the-ball movement, his intelligence and his abilities in shooting and heading, he can get himself many chances to score. Defensively, he tends to dive into tackles and press the opponents, while also using his body to duel with opponents or defend the ball. Due to his skills, he has been compared to

Massimo Ambrosini Massimo Ambrosini (; born 29 May 1977) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who mainly played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. At club level, he is mostly known for his successful time at ...

and Sergej Milinković-Savić, although he cited

Nicolò Barella Nicolò Barella (; born 7 February 1997) is an Italian professional association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Inter Milan and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. Known for his technical abili ...

, Marcelo Brozović, Radja Nainggolan,

Javier Zanetti Javier Adelmar Zanetti (, ; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest right-backs of all time, Zanetti is well known for having dedicated almost his entire career at Inter Milan, having ...

and Federico Valverde as sources of inspiration.

Personal life

Cesare's brother, Ettore, is also a footballer: as of 2023, he plays for the

soccer team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

of the

Florida Institute of Technology Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Approxim ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Leicester City *

: 2023–24
Italy U20 *

runner-up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual * FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Ball:

* FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Boot:

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casadei, Cesare 2003 births Living people Footballers from Ravenna Italian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders AC Cesena players Inter Milan players Chelsea F.C. players Reading F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Torino FC players English Football League players Premier League players Italy men's youth international footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Italian sportsmen UEFA Conference League–winning players