Chelsea youngster with ‘huge potential’ could now stay with their first team this season

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Chelsea are reportedly planning to keep their young midfielder in the first-team squad this season following the exit of Lesley Ugochukwu.

Chelsea confirmed last week that Lesley Ugochukwu, 20, has left Stamford Bridge to join Premier League rivals Southampton on a season-long loan.

The defensive midfielder played 15 games across all competitions last season for the Blues during an injury-hit campaign. Now, he’ll continue his development at St Mary’s with Southampton.

The Athletic recently claimed that Chelsea see similarities between Ugochukwu and Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of player he develops into out on loan.

• READ MORE: Chelsea loan watch: How every Blues loanee is performing in 2024/25 season

Cesare Casadei could stay in Chelsea squad

According to The Athletic, Chelsea may end up keeping Cesare Casadei in their first-team squad in this new 2024/25 season.

It is explained that the 21-year-old youngster is training with the senior group after recovering from a ‘minor knee injury’.

The report says that there’s a possible spot open in the Blues squad following Ugochukwu’s loan departure, which may be filled by the Italian midfielder.

This development in Casadei’s future comes after previous speculation that he may be heading for the exit doors this summer.

The Telegraph reported back in June that Chelsea could let Casadei leave this summer. Meanwhile, journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed last month that Casadei received transfer interest from three or four clubs.

He’s perfect for the Conference League

As long as Chelsea get through their Conference League play-off tie against Servette, they’ll be in the group stages of the European competition and their fixture load will suddenly increase this season. On paper, it could be a great tournament for some of the Blues youngsters to play and develop.

The fact that Casadei previously worked with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca at Leicester City does give him an advantage. It could be a smart move for the box-to-box midfielder to stay at Stamford Bridge and get plenty of minutes across various competitions.

It’s worth remembering that Romano previously reported that Chelsea believe Casadei has ‘huge potential’, so keeping him around the club makes sense.