Chelsea could already have their next Gallgher in “remarkable” academy gem

It’s been another rollercoaster of a Premier League season for Chelsea fans this year.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have looked both scintillating and disastrous at points this campaign, with some outstanding results – notably away to Manchester City – and some dreadful ones in equal measure.

However, the Blues have a chance to make it a season worth remembering on Sunday when they take on Liverpool in the League Cup Final. It’s a game that will define their campaign, and they’ll need their leading men firing on all cylinders, including Conor Gallagher.

The stand-in skipper is one of the few first-teamers who looks set to end the season with his stock higher than it was in August, but he might have to start looking over his shoulder in the future, as the club have a tremendously talented youngster coming through who could be gunning for his place in the XI.

Conor Gallagher this season

Gallagher’s role in the team has grown tremendously this year, as while he made 45 appearances for the Blues across all competitions last season, he played just 2022 minutes of first-team football – in which he scored three goals and provided one assist.

In comparison, the 24-year-old has already played 2600 minutes of football in 2023/24 from just 33 appearances.

The Epsom-born dynamo’s importance to the team is certainly apparent through this increase in minutes, but it is perhaps more evident in the fact that he has captained the side on 16 occasions this term, stepping in for the injured Reece James and Ben Chilwell.

He has also been more productive this term, scoring three goals, providing six assists in all competitions, and swapping back and forth between attacking and central midfield roles depending on the make-up of the rest of the team.

With how integral he has shown himself to be in Pochettino’s transitioning Chelsea side, it seems farcical that he was almost sold in the summer and again in January.

Still, perhaps the reason for that is the emergence of a youth gem who’s starred for the junior sides and has been out on loan this season.

Why fans should be excited about Cesare Casadei

The youngster in question is Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei, who joined the club from Inter Milan in August 2022 for a fee of around £12.6m with £4.2m of potential add-ons.

Described as an “exciting emerging talent” by Chelsea’s then-head of youth development, Neil Bath, the teenager went straight into the Pensioners’ U21 squad, where he scored five goals and provided one assist in just 13 appearances from central and attacking midfield.

With his impressive displays for the U21s and his record of 41 goals and eight assists in 105 games of youth football in Italy, he was sent out on loan to Reading in January 2023, where he netted once in 15 games and made an impact on the then-Royals boss Paul Ince, who said “sometimes you look and wish he was our player” in late February.

The “remarkable” talent, as described by U23 scout Antonio Mango, was then sent on loan to Leicester City at the start of this season.

He scored three goals and provided two assists in 1111 minutes of action for the Foxes but was recalled in January to join the Blues’ first team and help cover for injuries and has made two Premier League cameos since.

Ultimately, he’s unlikely to get a significant amount of minutes this season.

Still, with his impressive record at the youth level, glowing endorsements from scouts and those who have worked with him, and the fact that he plays in the same positions as Gallagher, he could well be duking it out with the Englishman for a place in the team next season.