Helsea are looking to follow up their move for Carney Chukwuemeka by signing Inter teenager Cesare Casadei as part of a succession plan to replace N’Golo Kante and Jorginho. The Blues have agreed a £20m fee for Aston Villa’s highly-rated midfielder Chukwuemeka, who was a star of England Under-19s’ success at the European Championships this summer. Chukwuemeka has traveled to London to discuss personal terms and the 18-year-old is set to move to Stamford Bridge on a long-term deal. New owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are keen to invest in young players and are ready to make another big-money move for Casadei, who could also cost £20m. Casadei is yet to make an appearance for Inter, but the 19-year-old is one of the top prospects in Italy and has been heavily scouted by academy boss Neil Bath.
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Chukwuemeka is seen as the future of Chelsea’s midfield as the club prepare for life after Kante and Jorginho, who could leave next summer when their contracts expire. Chelsea have already rejected two bids for Casadei, but interim sporting director Boehly is keen to back Bath as Chelsea continue to invest in their academy. Chukwuemeka was being chased by several top clubs in England and Europe and has reportedly turned down a new contract at Aston Villa that would have made him one of the highest paid teenagers in the country. He was in the final year of his contract and Villa agreed to sell him to Chelsea to secure a transfer fee for a player who could talk to foreign clubs in January. It is not yet clear whether Chukwuemeka will be in Chelsea’s first team or loaned out this season while he waits for Kante and Jorginho to leave. Cesare Casadei is a £20m target for Chelsea / Getty Images Chelsea last night also completed the £12m signing of 18-year-old Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, but he was immediately sent back on loan to the MLS side. They have also signed winger Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal and goalkeeper Eddie Beech from Southampton as part of an academy overhaul that could reach more than £50m. Chelsea are also interested in signing 16-year-old Palmeiras striker Edric, who is seen as the next Neymar. Amid moves for Chukwuemeka and Casadei, Chelsea have made a £50m bid for Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella. They have held talks through intermediaries for Leicester centre-back Wesley Fofana, who could cost around £80m, and are interested in Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters and Inter Milan duo Dumfries and Skriniar. The impending new arrivals at Stamford Bridge have raised doubts over the futures of Emerson Palmieri, Billy Gilmour, Ethan Ampadu and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso still want to move to Barcelona, while Timo Werner has fallen out with manager Thomas Tuchel and could return to RB Leipzig on loan. Malang Sar is on the verge of leaving, with Monaco having agreed a loan deal with an option to buy the defender.
