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Chelsea's young midfielder, Cesare Casadei, has dismissed the idea of a loan move in January despite his limited game time under manager Enzo Maresca. The pair previously worked together at Leicester City last season before reuniting this summer when Maresca took over from Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.
Despite rumours of a potential loan move away from west London during the summer transfer window, no such move materialised. Given the size of Chelsea's squad, Casadei has had to make do with sporadic appearances so far this season.
His first outing was in the 5-0 victory against League Two side Barrow in the Carabao Cup, followed by a full 90 minutes in the recent Europa Conference League win over Gent. However, the promising 21 year old is yet to feature in the Premier League this season, having been named on the bench for September's matches against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
As he prepares for duty with Italy's Under-21s, Casadei spoke to Italian publication Tuttosport about his relationship with Maresca and the summer speculation surrounding his future at Chelsea. "When I saw Maresca arrive at Stamford Bridge in the summer I was excited," he said (as reported by Calciomercato via Sport Witness).
"We already knew each other because he was my coach in the first six months of last season at Leicester City.", reports Football London.
Speaking about the persistent transfer buzz tying him to some of the giants of Italian football, he remarked: "The transfer rumours about Napoli, Milan and even Juve? After speaking to the coach, I was 100% sure that the decision to stay would be the best."
"Maresca told me what he thought, I had no doubts. I stayed here without considering possible loans. Nor do I think so at the moment for the next winter transfer market.
"I couldn't be more proud to play for Chelsea. The competitive spirit was one of the reasons why I decided not to leave."
Casadei made 22 Championship appearances for City last season - but only eight starts, before being recalled by his parent club. He would go on to play 11 times for the Blues under Mauricio Pochettino.