Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei seems to be one fan that Enzo Maresca currently has in west London.
Enzo Maresca joined the Blues already knowing Cesare Casadei after working with the 21-year-old at Leicester City last season.
Casadei made 22 league appearances under his compatriot before his loan spell was cut short.
Gianfranco Zola wants to see Casadei get given a chance at Chelsea, with the Italian youngster having not got too many opportunities under Maresca this season.
Cesare Casadei a fan of Enzo Maresca
Despite Casadei barely playing at the moment, the former Inter Milan man still appears to adore Maresca.
He is a fan of the Chelsea boss’ methods, claiming that they are different to other managers.
Speaking to Chelsea’s official website about Maresca, Casadei said: “I really like him. He likes to play with the ball, and he has different ideas from all the rest of the managers. He has his own ideas, and I think this is very important for us because he can drive us in the right direction.
“He is very clear, he has been clear from the moment he came here, and everyone understood him from the first day.”
While he has only managed to make three appearances this season, Luciano Spalletti says Casadei is almost ready to play for Italy.
What has Enzo Maresca said about Cesare Casadei?
Again, Casadei has barely featured under Maresca in the current campaign. However, he did play in Chelsea‘s 4-2 win against Gent in the Conference League.
Casadei was on the pitch for the whole 90 minutes, managing to impress his manager with his display.
“Cesare played very good against Barrow and even better tonight,” Maresca said when discussing Casadei’s performance against Gent. “I am very happy with the way he is playing. I had Cesare last year and he was playing a little bit in different position.
“This year, we are using him like a holding midfielder. The reason why is because I think we go in the direction where the middle you need physical players. Cesare is very big, physically strong and helps us when we want to press.”
He perhaps would like to give him more opportunities, but it is just not possible. Chelsea have some quality midfielders, namely Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez.
Fernandez himself is not even starting for the Blues at the moment and he is a £100m midfielder. Ultimately, if there is no room for Fernandez in the starting XI, then there certainly is not any for Casadei.
At this stage, Casadei needs another loan. If that does not materialise in January, though, it may not be the end of the world. As it stands, it does not look like he has any problems working with Maresca despite his lack of first-team minutes.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
