Chelsea’s youth revolution continues with newest signing
One of the reasons Chelsea fans have long yearned for a proper technical director is because Michael Emenalo was good at his job. They say you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone and that perfectly encapsulates how supporters treated Emenalo. The Blues’ former Director of Football is largely to thank for a lot of the club’s success over the last decade. He built a world class first team—irrespective of the managers in charge—but perhaps more importantly, he ensured that Chelsea was always prepared for the future. It’s no surprise some of the Blues’ worst transfer blunders (ex: Kepa Arrizabalaga) came after Emenalo departed.
While there haven’t been many updates on Chelsea’s search for the next Emenalo, new owner Todd Boehly hasn’t sat idly by and waited to address some issues within the club’s ranks. One of the biggest positives of Boehly’s tenure thus far is his treatment of young stars. The Blues have brought in a plethora of the world’s best young players over the summer. This transfer window has been unprecedented for Chelsea in that regard, and the group is only getting stronger.
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Chelsea continues its youth revolution with the signing of Cesare Casadei
The Blues have now completed yet another youth addition this summer with the signing of Inter Milan phenom Cesare Casadei. Casadei is a 19-year-old who is considered the next generational midfielder to come out of Italy. He’s often been touted as “the next Frank Lampard” during his time being linked to Chelsea. Suffice it to say, if his tenure in west London is half as successful as Super Frank’s, he’ll have repaid the Blues’ faith in him 10-times over.
Casadei has been tied to Chelsea rumors for months now, and Boehly’s camp fought hard for his signature. The Blues were one of the many suitors circling to sign Casadei. They may have had to fork over a bit of money (€15 million plus €5 million in add-ons) to sign him, but it’ll be worth it in the end as there is no buyback clause inserted in his deal. This is something Inter Milan desperately wanted to attach to any contract given to the teenager, Chelsea was not going to budge though. Casadei will sign a six-year deal with the Blues.
The Italian midfielder is not the first young addition Chelsea has made this summer, nor will he be the last. The reigning FIFA Club World Cup Champions have added a ton of talent to their youth ranks this summer with players like:
- Eddie Beach
- Omari Hutchinson
- Zak Sturge
- Gabriel Slonina
- Carney Chukwuemeka
- Shumaira Mheuka
- Tyler Dibling
- … and now Casadei!
Boehly has prioritized the signings of the next generation of superstars given the current contract situations at Chelsea. This is especially true in the midfield seeing as the contracts of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are set to expire next summer. The Blues have also invested in a lot of talent between the sticks as Edouard Mendy is in his 30s now and the aforementioned Arrizabalaga will likely be moving on from the team in the coming weeks amidst links to Napoli.
Overall, the investment on Casadei takes Chelsea to north of €50 million spent this summer purely on young stars. If there were any doubts before about the Boehly consortium’s willingness to spend freely like Roman Abramovich, they have now surely been cast aside.
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