Cesare Casadei's latest Torino performance proves Chelsea sale was clear mistake - opinion
Cesare Casadei had the best performance of his short Torino career on Sunday as they beat Monza 2-0 in Serie A.
Casadei joined Torino late in the January transfer window in hope of more regular playing time than he was getting at Chelsea.
Even though he had an existing relationship with Blues manager Enzo Maresca from his loan spell at Leicester last season, the midfielder did not play a single minute of Premier League football under him.
Casadei had more than enough reason to pursue an exit away from Stamford Bridge and that is what transpired.
He has now played four consecutive matches for Torino and the latest has proved that Chelsea were wrong not to show more patience.
Cesare Casadei scores first Torino goal after Chelsea exit
Casadei has started Torino’s last three Serie A games, including a 2-1 win over AC Milan, but his performance in the victory over Monza was by far his most impressive.
The former Chelsea man has already formed an excellent midfield partnership with fellow Italian Samuele Ricci and it was on full display on Sunday.
Casadei scored the goal to double Torino’s lead but it was an all-round showing that deserves a lot of praise. He completed one dribble, two tackles, 32 passes and won six out of nine duels.
He thoroughly deserved to take home the Player of the Match award and has now properly announced himself to Torino and Serie A fans.
And with 17th-place Parma and 18th-place Empoli up next, there is no reason why the Rome club can’t climb up the table into the top half.
Casadei posted the following message on Instagram after the game: “Victory and first goal with this shirt.”
Chelsea will regret Cesare Casadei January sale
No Chelsea supporter disagreed with the departure of Casadei in January, considering he was probably fifth choice behind even Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
The only issue is that the Blues decided to sell him for €15 million (£12.4m) – the same fee that it cost to sign him from Inter Milan two-and-a-half years ago.
It’s fair to suggest that if the 22-year-old were only on loan at Torino – or any other Serie A club – and playing regularly, Chelsea could have sold him for more in the summer.
Instead, the Blues will probably watch Casadei’s value skyrocket as he flourishes for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign and see no reward.
The West London club have been consistently criticised for their signings in recent years but their outgoing deals (e.g. Kai Havertz to Arsenal) have often been applauded. This one, however, will look worse as time goes on.
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