Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei has completed his move to Torino. The midfielder, who joined the Blues for £12million from Inter Milan in summer 2022, has returned to Italy on a permanent deal.

Casedei had been the subject of interest from teams across Europe this month after struggling for game time under Enzo Maresca. The 22-year-old, who spent the first half of last season with Maresca at Leicester City, hasn't made a single Premier League appearance in 2024/25.

He had been a more regular figure in the Conference League, having started three matches in that competition, as well as playing against Barrow in the Carabao Cup. In total, Casadei made just 17 senior appearances for the Blues before his exit was confirmed on Sunday morning.

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Torino, who sit 11th in the Serie A table and earned a 1-1 draw with title-chasing Atalanta on Saturday, unveiled the signing of Casadei on a long-term contract. Torino are set to pay £12.5m to secure the Italian's services, with Chelsea having a 25 per cent sell-on clause for any future sale.

Casadei's Chelsea future has been uncertain for some time and it's not a surprise that he has been allowed to leave Stamford Bridge after Maresca revealed that he could depart earlier in the transfer window.

"For him [Casadei], probably in this moment, the idea is to allow him to play some minutes in case there is any opportunity for him to go and play," Maresca said on January 9. "At this moment, this is the best thing for him.

"The only thing I can say is Cesare didn't get minutes for us, not because he's not good," he added.

"He is a good player and in the middle we have [Moises] Caicedo, Enzo [Fernandez] and [Romeo] Lavia - for me, who are the same position. Cesare has shown how good he can be in the Conference League, playing all the games as a No6; physically strong and good in the air.

"He is a good player but we have already many good players in that position so he didn't get the minutes."

Casadei's departure is Chelsea's third confirmed first-team January transfer. The decision to recall Trevoh Chalobah from Crystal Palace was the first, before the Blues decided to allow Renato Veiga to move to Juventus on loan.