Who is Chelsea starlet Cesare Casadei and what records did he break at the U20 World Cup with Italy

Cesare Casadei has always had a huge reputation in the inner circles of Italian football, and his obvious talent warranted Chelsea paying a fee believed to be around €15 million for the youngster, despite many outside his native Italy not knowing who he was at the time. 

The precocious talent, who was born in the Ravenna regions of Northern Italy and grew up in Milan, has started to show signs that he could be worth every penny the Blues forked over to Inter for his signature, and perhaps even more. 

Casadei rose to prominence at one of the biggest clubs in Milan, Inter, where he starred for the U19 side while being only 17-years-old before moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2022, and joining Reading in the January window. 

With Chelsea having a wretched 2022/23 campaign despite being the most affluent spenders in the world, questions were raised about their spending habits, and the signing of Casadei was particularly criticized. 

However, after Italy’s campaign at the U20 World Cup in Argentina, it is looking more likely that Inter got the raw end of the deal. 

Casadei lit up screens in Italy’s first game against Brazil with two goals and assist in a 3-2 win and did not look back, going on to break a number of records as the Azzurri finished runners up to Uruguay in the end. 

After a brilliant performance at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina, Casadei enshrined his name in Italian football history by becoming the first Italian player to score as many as seven goals at a single global international tournament. 

The 20-year-old midfielder also became the first European player to receive both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards for the highest goalscorer and best player of the same U20 World Cup, a feat famously accomplished by players like Javier Saviola, Sergio Aguero, and Lionel Messi. 

The Italian Wunderkind’s seven goals during the tournament also make him the third-most prolific Golden Boot winner in the last 10 editions of the U20 World Cup, with only Norway’s Erling Haaland in 2019 (9) and Ghana’s Dominic Adiyah in 2009 (8) scoring more goals in a single tournament than Chelsea’s Casadei. 

The Italian youngster certainly will certainly be one to watch out for in Chelsea’s new season, especially with manager Pochettino’s penchant for grooming young talented players into world beaters.