European club 'working hard' to sign Chelsea midfielder within days of January transfer window opening

Chelsea could be close to offloading a player on loan in the January transfer window, which is just three weeks away. The Blues streamlined their squad significantly over the summer, with Enzo Maresca taking a ruthless approach to offloading players he did not want as part of his squad.

For the most part, Chelsea were successful in getting players out through the exit doors, with players like Romelu Lukaku, Raheem Sterling and Kepa Arrizabalaga leaving in one way or another. But not all of the players who were given the option to leave ended up departing.

Cesare Casadai was given the option of leaving, but after a discussion with new boss Maresca, he decided to stay. "Last season was not easy for me,” he later admitted. "At the start of this season I was thinking about what was the best solution for me, but the moment I spoke to the manager I was sure that the decision to stay was the best for me and for my career.

"I never had the idea to go permanently to another club. There were some possible loans, but I spoke to the manager, he told me what he thinks. I had no doubt. I always wanted to play for Chelsea. I could not be more proud to play for Chelsea. Everyone understood from the first day what his idea was, how he wanted to play. It was very easy for everyone to understand what he wants. I really like how he wants to play, the way he thinks and the way he sees football. He's a great manager because he's able to take the best out of every one of us. He's really demanding but that’s the way it should be. Everyone knows we are at Chelsea and there are high expectations."

The midfielder has battled hard, featuring four times in the Conference League, but he still looks to be a distance off the Premier League starting XI, yet to feature in the league this season.

As a result, Italian club Monza are said to be pushing to land him on loan in January. Gazzetta dello Sport say Monza are ‘moving quickly’ in a bid to beat others to the loan deal, and they are reportedly targeting a completed deal by January 2nd.