Torino are ‘close’ to signing highly rated Chelsea midfielder

Serie A side Torino are getting ‘close’ to signing Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei, according to Italian news outlet Calciomercato.

Torino are one of several Serie A clubs keen to lure Casadei back to Italy, and they’ve nudged ahead in the race by submitting an opening bid.

Casadei has struggled to find his feet at Chelsea. He has had to settle for the odd appearance and is keen to get more first-team experience under his belt.

Since joining Chelsea from Inter Milan for around £17 million plus add-ons back in 2022, Casadei has only played 17 times for the Blues.

He has been on loan at Reading and Leicester City, the latter of which he got regular first-team minutes until the Blues cut his stay short due to their injury crisis.

Since returning to Stamford Bridge, Casadei has seen more action in cup competitions than in the Premier League.

This season, he has featured six times, mainly in the UEFA Europa Conference League, but has yet to get a single minute of Premier League football.

Casadei is open to a January exit, and Torino can offer him regular first-team football. The Italian club have tabled a bid worth £8.4m (€10m) plus a 30-40% future resale clause.

Torino are confident that their proposal will be enough to get a deal over the line, considering Casadei is on the transfer list.

Chelsea are yet to respond, but Casadei could be the first out the door this month, with the Blues looking to offload a couple of fringe players.

The likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Axel Disasi, and Harvey Vale are also on the chopping block.

Like his former Leicester teammate, Dewsbury-Hall has struggled for playing time at Stamford Bridge despite his longstanding relationship with Blues manager Enzo Maresca.

The English midfielder has been linked with a move to West Ham United, and Chelsea could ramp up their efforts to cut him loose towards the end of the transfer window.