The Italian midfielder was given the responsibility of fronting the press conference ahead of our game against Gent in this competition and has grown in stature since the arrival of Enzo Maresca, who was his head coach during a loan spell at Leicester City last season.

'I really like him,' says Casadei of his boss’ approach. 'He likes to play with the ball, and he has different ideas from all the rest of the managers. He has his own ideas, and I think this is very important for us because he can drive us in the right direction. He is very clear, he has been clear from the moment he came here, and everyone understood him from the first day.'

The 21-year-old has already started two matches this season, the first in which he has been a first-team squad member from the outset of the campaign, and he is hopeful he can continue to make an impression when called upon.

'It’s a big opportunity,' he says. 'This year, we have so many games and I think everyone has been involved so far, and everyone will be involved. So everyone has to be ready for the opportunity and the Conference League is a very good competition, so I’m sure we can do very well.'

Opportunities in European competition are a theme in this programme, as Danny Granville speaks to us about his role in the 1997/98 Cup Winners’ Cup run, when he was given a chance to shine on the big stage shortly after joining Chelsea from Cambridge United.

Despite having Graeme Le Saux and Celestine Babayaro ahead of him in the pecking order at left-back, Granville took his chance, scoring a wonder-goal in the first round against Slovan Bratislava, and ended up starting in the final in Stockholm, as we defeated Stuttgart to lift the trophy.

'Chelsea had international stars at that time, so for the home-grown players in those surroundings it was about making sure you were properly on it, because you knew you’d be playing with quality footballers,' he recalls.

'When we won the Cup Winners’ Cup, all the lads had a medal that night, and rightly so, because it’s a squad game. Everyone played their part.

'I’ve still got my medal, along with the shirt I wore, and I’ve also got a Stuttgart shirt, so I must have swapped that for another shirt I had that night. I wasn’t giving the one I wore away!'

Elsewhere in the programme, you can find out more about our opponents, Noah, as well as a little-known link between Chelsea and Armenian football, while Maresca and Reece James reflect on the task ahead in the middle of a busy week of fixtures.

Make sure you pick a copy from the programme sellers around Stamford Bridge or order online from our publications partner, Reach Sport.

Sadly, the news of John Dempsey’s passing was received after the programme for this game went to print, but a full tribute to our 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup hero will appear in the programme for Sunday’s Premier League game against Arsenal.