Cesare Casadei praised Chelsea Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after Mauricio Pochettino decision
Cesare Casadei has thanked three Chelsea teammates for helping him settle at the club, with the midfielder still adapting to life in England, including former striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Italy Under-21 international arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2022, joining from Inter Milan, where he spent the majority of his youth career. The 21-year-old spent six months settling at the club before going out on loan to Reading for the second half of the season. He couldn’t, however, stop them from dropping into League One.
Another loan deal followed in the summer, with the midfielder joining fellow Italian Enzo Maresca at Leicester City. He scored three times in 25 appearances for the Foxes as they rose to the top of the Championship before he was recalled by Chelsea in the January transfer window.
He was brought back to Stamford Bridge to be part of Mauricio Pochettino’s first-team squad but has played just 16 minutes since his return. All three appearances came as a late substitute.
Casadei did get more game time over the international break, starting both of Italy’s U21 European qualifiers against Latvia and Turkey and scoring in the 2-0 win over the former. Speaking during the international break, the midfielder addressed how he has settled in England over the last 18 months and credited two current and one former Chelsea player for helping him adapt.
“I don’t feel this pressure; I always try to do my best better with the awareness of not having done anything yet,” he told Italy’s official channels. “In fact, I always try to improve myself. In London, I only see films and TV in English because I have to perfect the language.
“I arrived in England with inevitable difficulties and I have to thank Jorginho, (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang, and Thiago Silva for helping me, now after a year and a half it’s better but I have to think and speak in English, also because I think I know Italian quite well.”
After being cup-tied for the FA Cup quarter-final against former loan club Leicester before the international break, Casadei could have a chance for more minutes for Chelsea this weekend. The Blues face Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off).
