Casadei is a talent, for that, there is no doubt. At the U20 World Cup in 2023, the then 20-year-old won the tournament’s Golden Ball for the best player and claimed the Golden Boot, with seven goals in six games from midfield.

His outstanding tournament, which saw Italy finish as runners-up, was followed by a place on Chelsea’s pre-season tour to the United States and then a loan move to Leicester City under the guidance of none other than Enzo Maresca.

Casadei featured in all-bar three of Leicester’s games between August and mid-January, starting in 11 of the 25 matches as the Foxes established themselves at the top of the Championship.

His performances and a mounting injury list at Stamford Bridge persuaded the Blues to recall the midfielder and Casadei would be included in all 17 of Chelsea’s Premier League squads during the second half of the campaign, coming on 11 times.

However, come the summer, Chelsea and Casadei had a decision to make. Head out on loan once again to secure regular starts or stay and fight for his place in the Blues line-up.

Casadei said: ‘It was my decision [to stay at Chelsea for the 2024/25 campaign]. Last season was not very easy for me, so at the start of the season I was thinking about what the best solution was for me. But after I spoke to the manager, I was 100 per cent sure the decision to stay would be best for me, my career and my improvement.

‘There were some possible loans but I spoke to the manager and he told me what he thinks and I had no doubts from that moment.

‘I always wanted to play for Chelsea, one of the biggest teams in the world, so I could not be more proud to play for Chelsea and this is my goal, to play for this team. So I had no doubts.’

Maresca guided Leicester City to the Championship title in his first season at the club and arrived at Chelsea in the summer with some familiar faces in the dressing room.

Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer had been integral members of the Manchester City U23s team which lifted the 2020/21 Premier League 2 title under Maresca, while the latter also won the triple with the senior team in 2022/23 while the Italian was an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola.

And Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall also joined Chelsea in the summer after scoring 12 goals and recording 15 assists at Maresca’s Leicester, where Casadei had spent the first half of the season.

Casadei said: ‘I really like the way he wants to play, the way he thinks and how he sees football. He is a great head coach because he can get the best out of all of us.

‘We are doing really well, we are working hard every day. He is really demanding but that is the way it should be because we are Chelsea. Everyone knows that we have high expectations and I think he has helped us.’

Casadei has yet to feature in the Premier League this season, being an unused substitute on two occasions, but he did play the full 90 minutes in our 5-0 win over Barrow in the League Cup.

Maresca recognised Casadei struggled at the beginning of the game in his new position as a deep-lying midfielder but believes he went on to play ‘very well’.

The 21-year-old has historically been an all-action box-to-box midfielder who can score goals as impressively as he can win tackles and dominate aerially.

Maresca praised Casadei’s physicality and positional understanding and believes the youngster can still help Chelsea both on the ball and off it in the deeper role.

Casadei said: ‘Last season with Enzo, I played more as a box-to-box midfielder. This season I am training and playing as a holding midfielder and it’s good for me to learn different positions because it can help in my future career.

‘I always have to be ready in every position the manager wants me to play and try to give my best.’

In the deeper role, Casadei is currently competing with one of the most highly-rated midfielders in the world in Moises Caicedo, while Romeo Lavia has also shown his incredible talent already despite missing almost the whole of last season through injury.

And in the more advanced central positions, the Blues already have the likes of PFA Young Player of the Year Cole Palmer, World Cup-winner Enzo Fernandez, Portugal star Joao Felix and the talented Dewsbury-Hall.

Casadei knows becoming an established member of Chelsea’s starting XI is not going to be easy but that is the dream.

He said: ‘I knew it would be difficult to play but at the same time, it would be good competition to make me stronger and improve me.

‘As I said before, from the moment I decided to stay here, my goal was to become a Chelsea player and an important player for this team. I always try to give my best, train hard every day and keep improving, all with the goal of becoming an important part of this team.’

Casadei continued: ‘Sometimes it can be hard [not playing at the weekend] but we are at Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, so it’s normal there is really high competition. We have a lot of players with a lot of quality, so it’s not always easy to play the game week in, week out.

‘You have to fight for your place, its good competition, and it’s one of the reasons I decided to stay. When there is good competition, it can help you improve and make you a better player. It can be helpful for you.’