Leicester are working on a loan deal for Italy Under-21 midfielder Cesare Casadei from Chelsea to further strengthen Enzo Maresca’s squad at the King Power Stadium.
Maresca has been busy in the transfer market since his appointment as he looks to fill the void left by James Maddison’s departure to Tottenham Hotspur and interest from Newcastle United in Harvey Barnes.
Casadei has emerged as an option on a season-long loan from Chelsea after he played in the Championship with Reading in the last campaign, making 15 appearances as the club were relegated.
With Leicester now in the second-tier, another loan move would give him the opportunity for regular senior football before returning to compete for a place in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Given that he cost Chelsea a total package of £17 million to buy from Inter Milan a year ago, he has been a sought-after player in the Championship given how highly rated he is at Stamford Bridge. Arriving on a six-year deal, he is seen as a player with huge potential.
He has trained with the Italian squad under Roberto Mancini and this summer went to the Under-20s World Cup where he reached the final and lost to Uruguay but won the Golden Boot with seven goals and was named player of the tournament.
After relegation, Leicester have also released Caglar Soyuncu, Ayoze Pérez, Daniel Amartey and Ryan Bertrand. Harry Winks and Conor Coady have been arrivals during Maresca’s rebuild. He has also brought in Willy Caballero as assistant manager.
Maresca is also on the verge of signing Brondby goalkeeper Mads Hermansen in a deal worth around £6 million.
Hermansen is back-up to Leicester’s former goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel for Denmark and will compete to be first-choice under Maresca. There is interest in Swansea forward Joel Piroe but also competition for his signature.
