Jason Cundy seriously impressed by 20-year-old Chelsea player in Wrexham win

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Jason Cundy singled out Chelsea’s youngster Cesare Casadei as someone who really impressed in the first game of pre-season.

The Blues kicked off their United States tour in the early hours of this morning with a 5-0 win over Wrexham.

Mauricio Pochettino, who was in the manager’s dugout for his first game since becoming the new head coach, got to check on as many as 19 players during the pre-season friendly against League Two opposition.

Cesare Casadei, along with Bashir Humphreys, were the only two Chelsea players to complete a full 90 minutes of action.

We certainly enjoyed what we saw from the midfielder. Let’s hope Pochettino did, too!

Cundy, who was on co-commentary for Chelsea’s coverage of the Wrexham fixture, did highlight Casadei as a real positive spark. In particular, he did notice the youngster’s serious running power.

The 20-year-old was certainly up and down the pitch all game in his role as the box-to-box central midfielder.

“He’s done well the boy today. He’s done good,” Cundy said via Chelsea’s official website (1:45am, 20 July).

“Happy to go in deep and pick it off the centre-halves, he’s also happy for his partner Andrey Santos to do that job, and he’ll go slightly higher.

“He’s got through some miles Casadei.”

Casadei put in an eye-catching energetic performance against Wrexham, which was particularly impressive for the first warm-up game of the summer.

It’s too early to tell if he can force his way into the first-team plans for the upcoming season, but his driving runs from the centre of the park were definitely a reminder of what the Blues missed so badly last year.

He provided the assist for Christopher Nkunku’s second-half goal with a great weighted through ball. Elsewhere, Ian Maatsen (two), Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell were on the scoresheet.

The Telegraph recently claimed that Championship side Leicester City are currently working on a deal to sign Casadei on a season-long loan. Will his pre-season performances prevent a move to the King Power Stadium, though?