Chelsea have reportedly reached an agreement with Inter Milan to sign midfielder starlet Cesare Casadei.
The West Londoners have been long-term admirers of the 19-year-old and have already seen two bids rejected by the Italian giants earlier in the window.
However, Sky Sports News claims that the Blues have now agreed a deal with Inter to sign Casadei for an initial fee of €15m (£12.6m) plus €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons.
The midfielder, who has already agreed personal terms on a move to Stamford Bridge, is now set to fly to England on Wednesday before undergoing his medical on Thursday.
© Reuters
Casadei, who has also been linked with French side Nice, is yet to make his professional debut for Simeone Inzaghi's side, but the Italy Under-19 international is rated highly by the Nerazzurri and has impressed at youth level.
The 6ft 1in box-to-box midfielder recorded 16 goals and five assists in 39 appearances for Inter's Under-19s across all tournaments last season.
Casedei has two years remaining on his contract at San Siro, but Inter are reluctantly prepared to sell the youngster as they look to balance their books.
Inter have already allowed Andrea Pinamonti to join Sassuolo for around £18m this summer and now Casedei is set to be the next to depart.
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will decide to loan out Casedei for the 2022-23 campaign or opt to keep the midfielder at Stamford Bridge.
© Reuters
Chelsea have already spent in excess of £150m on five fresh faces this summer, including the arrivals of 18-year-olds Carney Chukwuemeka and Gabriel Slonina.
Chukwuemeka has joined from Aston Villa for an initial £15m and the midfielder is set to stay in Thomas Tuchel's first-team squad, while Slonina has arrived from Chicago Fire for around £8m but the goalkeeper will remain on loan with the MLS outfit for the rest of this year.
Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella are three high-profile additions made by the Blues this summer, but new owner Todd Boehly is preparing to splash more cash in the final two weeks of the transfer window.
A recent report claims that Chelsea are preparing to make an improved £50m bid for Everton attacker Anthony Gordon, who is allegedly open to joining the West Londoners.
Barcelona duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong have also been linked with a move to the Blues, with the former valued in the region of £23m by the Catalan giants.
Oliver Thomas
