Much has been made of Chelsea's transfer spending since the arrival of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital - understandably so given £600million in expenditure has only helped to land the Blues with a bottom half finish.
Few moves have hit the ground running but many have been made with an eye on the future, and will have a chance to prove their worth under the next manager and beyond.
Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos and Malo Gusto are all 21 or younger and signed in January, while the Blues invested in their development squad over the summer to add the likes of Zak Sturge, Gabriel Slonina, Omari Hutchinson and Cesare Casadei in addition to Carney Chukwuemeka, who more quickly gained first-team involvement.
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Despite some big moments over the course of this season, Casadei is perhaps not quite as storied as some of the other names. Slonina's signature arrived to much fanfare, while Hutchinson has earned a first team appearance and there was some expectation that Santos could have come quickly into the senior environment should he have received a work permit.
Neil Bath said upon the completion of the £12.6million deal, which could rise to £16.8million: "Cesare is a player we have tracked for some time and we are delighted that he has now agreed to join Chelsea, where he will initially strengthen our Under-21s squad. He is another exciting emerging talent who we are looking forward to seeing develop and progress further as he breaks into senior football in the coming years."
That path has played out so far with Casadei first growing more comfortable within the development squad before making a January loan to Reading, though he would appear in the crowd to watch his Chelsea teammates at Kingsmeadow. The 20-year-old required some adjustment but he ultimately became a regular for the Royals and made 15 Championship appearances but was unable to prevent their relegation.
He is now captain of Italy Under-20s at the World Cup, a competition in which Santos and Slonina have also worn the armband of their national teams in recent days and Harvey Vale could yet secure the England captaincy should he start on Monday night. It's clear the Blues are hoping to bring and develop leaders through the club, something the first team has lacked on occasion.
While there has been plenty of hype surrounding Santos after his goalscoring exploits in the South American Under-20s Championship, it was Casadei that stole the show when Italy faced Brazil on Sunday evening.
The youngster helped start an attacking move with a cool turn and pass before continuing his run to provide an assist with a flick for Matteo Prati after 11 minutes. The midfielder was then persistent from a corner having first headed the ball into the ground before chasing it up to force the ball into the net for the Azzurri's second.
Before the end of the half, Casadei received the ball in the box and with a quick jink and jive beat his man before being dragged down by Arthur. The Italian starlet made no mistake from the spot to put his side 3-0 up.
Chelsea's pair were not in direct competition in midfield, but Casadei flourished in his advanced position while Santos was unable to start much in the way of Brazil attacks, even as the South American side pulled two goals back during the second half. Santos showed some good close control but the Italians were able to stifle their opponents' build-up play and left Chelsea's ace with a difficult evening.
For supporters and the Blues' perspective alike, it will be a sign that patience will still be required even with Santos' Vasco da Gama loan set to end in time for the 19-year-old to join up with Chelsea in the summer.
Casadei may feel he has started to prove a case of his own after a route that proved much different to that of Chukwuemeka who arrived around the same time. With it came more playing time across youth and senior football, albeit at a lower level. The Blues will have to consider what next step will prove best for all of their young stars moving forward, amidst the club's requirement to sell first team stars.
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