Leicester boss Maresca ‘surprised’ by Chelsea decision to recall Casadei

Leicester City coach Enzo Maresca has admitted he and the club ‘didn’t expect’ for Chelsea to recall Italian starlet Cesare Casadei from his loan spell several months ahead of schedule.

Chelsea took the decision to cut short Casadei’s loan spell in the Championship on Friday, with reports confirming that the 21-year-old is set to train with the first team squad under Mauricio Pochettino at Cobham.

It is believed that concerns around Chelsea first team regular and World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez and his recent hernia issues were part of the decision to bring Casadei back to his parent club.

Casadei had originally been set to spend the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign on loan with Leicester, who are currently leading the Championship table by a seven-point margin after 28 games.

“We were surprised Casadei went back to Chelsea,” Maresca said, reported via English outlet Metro.

“They own him, so they can decide. We can’t do anything. We didn’t expect it, but we deal with it and we see if we can do something before the transfer window closes.”

Casadei had featured in 22 out of the 25 Championship matches he had been available for while at Leicester, chipping in with two goals from the middle of the park.

According to reports from several outlets in recent weeks, Leicester have been pushing to strike a deal with Inter for another Italian midfielder in 28-year-old Stefano Sensi.