OGC Nice have now overtaken interest from Chelsea in the race to sign Cesare Casadei of Inter Milan, after stepping up their quest to sign the Arsenal target in the summer window.
Nice now overtake Chelsea in race for Cesare Casadei of Inter amid Arsenal links
According to Foot Mercato, OGC Nice have now edged ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan. The Ligue 1 outfit are keen to agree a deal to sign the 19-year-old emerging star on loan, and are ready to out-bid the Blues for a permanent switch.
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Thomas Tuchel’s Stamford Bridge natives have already submitted an €8m (£6.5m) bid for a permanent transfer this summer. But Nice will blow their proposal out of the water with a package worth €19m (£16m). The fee includes his €4m (£3.5m) loan, plus an option to buy.
Inter Milan would consider Nice’s proposal, but will also insist any suitor agrees to include a potential buy-back clause. Nerazzurri chiefs would want the right of first refusal, should the Italy Under-19 star ever be put up for sale, with their option fixed at €35-40m (£29.5-34m).
Casadei is yet to make his senior debut for the San Siro outfit, but has been a crucial cog in their Primavera unit. He has so far amassed 66 appearances for Inter Milan’s development side, which have featured 25 goals and seven assists from mostly central midfield minutes.
The Ravenna-born talent is also a regular for Italy’s U19s, and enjoyed caps at U16, 17 and 18 levels. Making his potential highly sought after in England and France, as well as in Italy.
Mikel Arteta keen to rival Thomas Tuchel and now Lucien Favre
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are also keen to rival Tuchel’s Chelsea for Casadei’s transfer, as well as interest from Lucien Favre’s Nice. La Repubblica note the Gunners and Blues are suitors for the Italy prospect. It is also noted that Inter Milan value their product at €20m (£17m).
But the Premier League rivals deemed the Nerazzurri’s asking price to be too excessive for a teen talent without any first-team minutes. Even though his potential is highly regarded.
“He’s a modern midfielder because out of all the youth team midfielders he’s been the one with the greatest aptitude for attacking runs and goalscoring,” Maurizio Viscidi, the youth scouting co-ordinator for Italy, has told Gazzetta dello Sport, via quotes by Sempre Inter.
“He attacks the area penalty area better than anyone else we’ve seen better than [Davide] Frattesi or [Nicolo] Barella. And he’s also strong in the air, something that’s unusual among younger players… He’s the strongest player currently within the Azzurri’s youth sector.”
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