Chelsea parted ways with a number of first team players in January after they felt they had not been handed enough opportunities to make their mark at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca was always going to struggle to give everyone the gametime they were hoping for this season, and tried his best to do so by rotating heavily in the Conference League.
The Blues made lightwork of the group stage of the competition, being the only side in Europe to win every single one of their matches before the knockout football began.
One of the players who played near enough all his Chelsea games this season in the Conference League is Cesare Casadei. The Italian played every single match available other than the one he was suspended for following a red card.
A transfer story that stretched all the way through January was where the midfielder would end up, with it pretty clear that he would be leaving permanently.
It was reported Casadei had chosen Lazio as his next club, however it was Torino who he ended up joining in the final hours of the window.
The midfielder told Toro.IT that he had actually been pushing for a return to his home country for a while, after it became clear he was not going to make it as a key player in West London.
He said: “As an Italian I grew up watching Serie A so I am too fond of the curve and the ultras who sing for 90 minutes, so I prefer it in Italy.
“It was the right time to return to Italy, I had been trying to return for a while but things didn’t go the way I wanted in a certain sense. I really wanted to return to Italy and finally I am here.”
What has Cesare Casadei said about Enzo Maresca since leaving Chelsea?
Despite not playing him regularly, it has been claimed that Maresca never wanted Chelsea to sell Casadei midway through the season.
While only featuring him in cup competitions, he was still ahead of the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka in the pecking order, who also got a January move on loan to Borussia Dortmund.
Casadei has been complimentary of Maresca since leaving the club, saying to La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I learned a lot from him. He taught me a different way of seeing football.”
A move was on the cards at the end of the season if it didn’t happen in January, and with the Blues selling the midfielder for about as much as they bought him for, ultimately not a lot of harm was done.
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