Chelsea have recalled midfielder Cesare Casadei from his loan with Leicester City, with the 21-year-old expected to take a spot in Mauricio Pochettino's first-team squad for the remainder of the season.
The Blues paid an initial £12m to sign Casadei from Inter in 2022 and, after sending him to Reading for the second half of last season, struck a deal to take the Italian to Championship heavyweights Leicester for the 2023/24 campaign.
However, Casadei is now heading back to Chelsea where, as first revealed by Matt Law, he is expected to remain with Pochettino's senior squad for the remainder of the season.
With Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu both battling injuries, Chelsea have been left short in midfield at times this season, with Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher the only senior options in Pochettino's squad.
As a result, Casadei is returning from his spell with Leicester. The 21-year-old made 25 appearances in all competitions, including eight league sides for a team who are flying at the top of the Championship.
Casadei had a mixed spell with Leicester, with fans often left divided by the Italian, who made an impact on manager Enzo Maresca during his six-month stay at the King Power Stadium.
"Every game he plays, he has chances," Maresca said last month. "Because of the age, he needs to become a little more clinical, but he’s a very, very good player."
While Casadei is expected to remain with Chelsea for the remainder of the season, a final decision is yet to be made on the future of Andrey Santos, whose own loan with Nottingham Forest was terminated after he managed just seven minutes of Premier League action.
Santos is back training with Chelsea but could yet leave on loan, with several sides across the Premier League and Championship understood to be keen on the Brazil international.
