Diego Moreira and Cesare Casadei are expected to remain at Chelsea for the remainder of the season, according to head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues have recently activated the midfielder’s and the winger’s call-back options, who were both on loan at Leicester City and Lyon, respectively.
Casadei has played a key role in a winning Leicester team, starting 11 games and substituting 14 times in all competitions.
With Lyon, Moreira struggled to get playing time, only managing three substitute appearances and four starts in Ligue 1 in 2023–2024.
Although Casadei has only played for Championship team Leicester this year, Moreira is not allowed to play for another team during the current campaign due to his 45-minute EFL Cup cameo against AFC Wimbledon in August.
Pochettino has, however, made it clear that he intends to retain both players at Stamford Bridge for the whole of the year.
During a news conference, the Argentinean said to the media, “We both need to examine right now. Good potential, but I believe they will join our team. The choice will then be made about whether or not they will play for the team each week.
“I think it is good news because we were suffering too many injuries, so to recover players from loan, I think it is important for us.”
Pochettino was explicitly questioned over Casadei’s progress, given he is cup-tied for this Tuesday’s EFL Cup match against Middlesbrough and the FA Cup match against Aston Villa three days later.
Pochettino seems to have seen enough, even if Chelsea has a large pool of midfield players in their senior ranks, to make the Italy Under-21 international a contender for his first competitive game for the West Londoners.
“It was great, in my opinion; he was doing well. We weren’t surprised by it since he performed so well in the preseason. He was one of the guys we struggled a little bit with over his permission to go, and we are now hoping he can assist.
“In the Premier League, maybe he can be involved and be a part of the squad.”
A foreign loan spot has become available due to Moreira’s recall, just as players like Deivid Washington and Andrey Santos are being evaluated for a possible short-term transfer abroad.
