AC Milan want young Chelsea ace to become their 13th signing from the Blues this century, according to reports from Italy

Fikayo Tomori and Christian Pulisic are just two of the players AC Milan have signed from Chelsea recently. (Shutterstock)

AC Milan have made a habit out of signing players from Chelsea in recent years.

Since the turn of the century, the Serie A giants have poached no less than 12 players directly from the Blues, including Fernando Torres, Fikayo Tomori, and, most recently, Christian Pulisic.

Now, the Rossoneri have their eyes set on yet another Chelsea star in youngster Cesare Casadei.

According to Milan Live, the 19-time Italian champions are on the hunt for a new midfielder in January and have identified Casadei as a priority target.

Cesare Casadei. (Deposit Photos)

Milan want the Italian to provide back-up for Ismael Bennacer, who has been out injured since September but is expected to return to action shortly after the New Year.

Head coach Paolo Fonseca has, according to Milan Live, been unhappy with the contributions of Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who Milan signed from Chelsea last summer, in the Algerian's absence.

The publication claims that Milan are now ready to "focus heavily" on bringing Casadei to the San Siro, and consider him an "excellent" player.

Casadei urged to leave Chelsea

Casadei, 21, has found opportunities hard to come by at Stamford Bridge since his £16.8 million move from Inter Milan in 2022.

He spent his first season at the club on-loan with Reading, and began his second on-loan with Leicester, before being recalled in January.

Since then, he's made just two starts for the Blues, and hasn't played single minute of Premier League football this season under new manager Enzo Maresca.

Last month, Italy U-21 head coach Carmine Nunziata urged Casadei to leave Chelsea in search of regular first-team action.

Carmine Nunziata. (Shutterstock)

"Last year Cesare had a good first part with Leicester, then he went to Chelsea and played little," Nunziata said during an appearance on Rai Radio 1 Sport. "This year they kept him there, I advised him to see how it goes until January, otherwise it’s right to look around for another solution."

Casadei, however, has other ideas.

“I’m so proud to be at Chelsea and I’m not planning for January move," the midfielder said in a recent interview.