Cesare Casadei has suggested that he is targeting a place in Chelsea's first-team squad for 2024-25.
Last summer, Chelsea committed to paying €20m for the midfielder, despite the fact that he had not made any first-team appearances for Inter Milan.
That remains the case with Chelsea, yet the 20-year-old has been able to enhance his reputation with experience in the Championship and at the Under-20 World Cup.
Casadei was named as the player of the tournament while representing Italy in the summer, which followed a loan stint at Reading and preceded the start of a temporary period at Leicester City.
As it stands, Casadei has netted the winning goal in a win over Cardiff City, but he is yet to start a Championship fixture for the Foxes with Enzo Maresca having previously selected a winning team until the defeat to Hull City before the international break.
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There were reports that Casadei preferred to return to his homeland to play in Serie A for a season rather than spending another spell in the second tier of English football.
Nevertheless, while acknowledging that there was truth in those claims, Casadei says that he is relishing the chance of a season at the King Power Stadium where he hopes to impress Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Speaking to Cronache di Spogliatoio, Casadei said: "I see myself well here in England. In the summer there was a possibility of returning to Italy, but along with Chelsea we felt that staying was the best solution to allow me to grow further.
"In the last year they've invested a lot in young players. They want to build a long-term project.
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"I see myself here in England. And I hope to make my debut in the Premier League with Chelsea, even as early as next season."
Casadei was heavily used by Pochettino in pre-season, accumulating 257 minutes of football across four friendlies before fresh faces were brought to the club.
The arrivals of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu led to Casadei and Andrey Santos being sent out to Leicester and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Given his status in the Italy Under-21s setup, there have been suggestions that Casadei could soon be handed experience in the senior squad.
Darren Plant
