Where Chelsea’s Casadei could play at Napoli: McTominay or Lobotka replacement | OneFootball

As Napoli currently lead the race to sign Italy U21 star Cesare Casadei from Chelsea this transfer window, here is a look at how and where the Azzurri prospect could line up in Antonio Conte’s Partenopei set-up.

According to reports on Tuesday evening, Napoli have overtaken Torino as the frontrunners in the race to land Casadei on a permanent transfer from Chelsea.

The former Inter youth prospect moved to Stamford Bridge as a teenager in the summer of 2022 for a reported fee of €15m plus bonuses. He was later sent out on loan to Reading in the Championship and then Leicester City under Enzo Maresca.

Maresca is, of course, the current head coach at Chelsea, but despite the Italian connection, Casadei has found little room in the first-team picture in West London this season, and has only featured in the Conference League and EFL Cup this season; No Premier League minutes thus far.

Now, Conte’s Napoli seem the most likely destination for the Italy hopeful, who turns 22 later this week.

Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli, shows appreciation to the fans prior to the Coppa Italia match between SS Lazio and Napoli at Stadio Olimpico on December 05, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Where Casadei could play at Napoli

Though his minutes in the first team have been limited this season, Casadei has started to show a bit of versatility in terms of his position.

He has already proved capable of starring in an advanced midfield role, given that he won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot during the 2023 U20 World Cup, with seven goals from the middle of the park.

Cesare Casadei of Italy celebrates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the FIFA U-20 World Cup semifinal soccer match between Italy and South Korea, in La Plata, Argentina, 8 June 2023. EPA-EFE/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni

However, he has also been deployed in a deeper role when he has featured in the Chelsea first team this season.

Most naturally, Casadei would likely be considered an alternative to Scott McTominay in Napoli’s current 4-3-3 system: A box-to-box role, but probably the most advanced of the three Partenopei midfielders.

But, with his new-found versatility in midfield, there is also a chance that Casadei could cover the deep-lying playmaker role in Conte’s line-up, a role where Stanislav Lobotka usually excels.

Napoli’s midfield has been relatively settled for most of this season, so it will take an impressive showing for Casadei to break into the starting line-up and keep his spot, but the fact that he can cover multiple roles could certainly come to benefit COnte and the team.