Exclusive: Maresca favourite joins Chelsea 'bomb squad'

Cesare Casadei has become the latest Chelsea star to be frozen out of Enzo Maresca’s squad, sources have told Football Insider.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke revealed that the midfielder had worked closely with the boss during pre-season but has now been cast aside.

Casadei also spent the first half of last season on loan with Maresca’s Leicester side, where the pair are said to have established a strong relationship.

However, he has now become the latest to join Chelsea’s “bomb squad” who have left out of the manager’s plans and will not feature this season.

With the transfer window having closed across Europe, a large group of players at Stamford Bridge will be forced to sit on the sidelines until January at the earliest.

A move to Turkey could still be on the cards, with their window set to close on 13 September, but there has been no real interest in the midfielder on that front.

Cesare Casadei frozen out at Chelsea in latest Enzo Maresca twist

Chelsea’s squad-building and bizarre recruitment plan has led to a situation where half of the players on the books have been left out of the squad.

Maresca revealed in August that he was only working with 21 of his 42-man squad, at the time, in preparation for the rest of the season.

A further 11 signings over the summer have seen as many as 20 players expelled from first-team training at Stamford Bridge, according to the boss.

Casadei has now joined that group, despite having made 25 appearances during his spell under Maresca at Leicester where he impressed enough to earn a Chelsea recall.

He has also made 11 senior appearances for the Blues, but now finds himself on the sidelines with no prospect of playing first-team football this season.

At 21 years old, with 13 appearances for the Under-21s side under his belt, Casadei could return to playing youth football in the short-term.

Star players including the likes of Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana and Raheem Sterling before his move to Arsenal have all been frozen out.

Even after 19 first-team departures at Stamford Bridge this summer, Maresca’s squad remains overinflated, leaving the likes of Casadei on the sidelines.

In other news, striker’s Chelsea transfer has collapsed, says journalist.

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