Chelsea have completed the signing of highly-rated teenager Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan, it has been confirmed.
The 19-year-old joins the Blues after penning a long-term contract until 2028 and becomes Thomas Tuchel's sixth signing of the summer.
Casadei joins Chelsea from Inter Milan and arrives at Stamford Bridge following the additions of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Gabriel Slonina, Carney Chukwuemeka and Marc Cucurella.
It is believed Chelsea will pay an initial £12.6 million for the Italian midfielder, with £4.2 million in potential add-ons. Casadei flew to England on Wednesday and expressed his delight at his imminent transfer.
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He told media at the airport: "I feel so proud, I’m ready for this new chapter. Chelsea? I’m always ready."
Now the club has officially confirmed his arrival.
Following his arrival, Neil Bath - the club's Head of Youth development - said: "Cesare is a player we have tracked for some time and we are delighted that he has now agreed to join Chelsea, where he will initially strengthen our Under-21s squad.
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"He is another exciting emerging talent who we are looking forward to seeing develop and progress further as he breaks into senior football in the coming years."
Casadei will split his time between the first-team and the U21s as he looks to develop during the 2022-23 season in England.
Despite not making his senior debut for Inter Milan, Casadei is another name added to bolster the young talent being acquired at Cobham this summer with the new owners shaping the club for the short-term and long-term.
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Chelsea have already spent £12 million on Slonina, who has returned to Chicago Fire for the rest of the season, while Chukwuemeka joined for £20 million from Aston Villa.
It is believed that Neil Bath has been given a major transfer role by Todd Boehly and co this summer over who the Blues will bring in to add to their strength in depth.
Tuchel was full of praise for the new owners earlier this month when asked about their involvement in transfers, saying: "I have nothing but the biggest respect and compliments for both Todd and Behdad.
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"I don't know when they sleep. Maybe they never sleep. We have a very honest, very open, very direct line of communication.
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"The transfers so far speak for themselves. We have a delay, of course. Nobody is guilty for that delay.
"We have a delay because of the sanctions and the sanctions led to the loss of key players but both of the owners who are involved in the daily business have done a fantastic job so far. The transfer market speaks for itself."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Chelsea, Premier League, Thomas Tuchel, Inter Milan, Football, Transfers
