Antonio Conte's Napoli are preparing a bid to sign out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei. The Italy Under 21s international has struggled for regular game time under Enzo Maresca this season.

Casadei, who spent the first half of the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Maresca's Leicester, returned to Stamford Bridge last January and made 11 Premier League appearances at the back end of last term.

There was hope that the 21-year-old would be handed more opportunities after reuniting with Maresca in the summer, but it hasn't been the case so far. In fact, Casadei has started just FOUR times across all competitions this season. He has played six matches in total, with none of those coming in the Premier League.

READ MORE: Chelsea can finally confirm dream £40m transfer decision after surprise Enzo Maresca green light

READ MORE: Chelsea first two January transfers confirmed as surprise twist explained

It has been a disappointing start to the season for Casadei and he has been linked with a move away from Chelsea in the January transfer window. Leicester have been tipped to re-sign the former Inter Milan man, while clubs in Italy, including Monza, Torino and Lazio, are said to be interested in a winter move.

And now, Napoli are the latest Serie A team to enter the frame. According to Fabrizio Romano, ex-Chelsea boss Conte is keen to bring Casadei back to Italy and Napoli are drawing up an offer to sign him. It's added that Napoli's bid will be for a permanent transfer with Chelsea requesting a sell-on clause.

Chelsea signed Casadei from Inter in 2022 for an initial £12.6million. He spent the second half of his first season in English football at Reading and moved to Leicester in the following summer looking to gain more senior experience. He helped Leicester enjoy a fine start to the 2023/24 season, scoring some important goals.

However, the Blues decided to recall Casadei in January 2024 as Mauricio Pochettino attempted to fit him back into his first-team squad. Casadei, who has a contract to run at Chelsea until 2028, was an ever-present in the Chelsea contingent for the remainder of that season, although he didn't end up starting a game.

It became clear that Casadei was behind the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo and even Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge across the summer, and he has been limited to appearances in the Conference League and the Carabao Cup so far this season.