Fabrizio Romano drops Chelsea transfer BOMBSHELL
Chelsea defender Renato Veiga has reportedly rejected the opportunity to leave the club on a permanent deal before the end of the January transfer window.
The Portugal international has reached a total verbal agreement to join Borussia Dortmund this month, but he is only willing to leave Stamford Bridge on loan.
That is according to Fabrizio Romano, who has revealed that Veiga is only interested in departing on a six-month loan deal in order to play regular football as a central defender.
Chalobah’s transfer stance CONFIRMED amid Chelsea recall rumours
The 21-year-old has almost exclusively played at left-back since arriving at Chelsea from FC Basel in July, and he is eager to be deployed in his preferred position of centre-back for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
However, Veiga has no interest in leaving Chelsea on a permanent deal as he believes in the club’s long-term project, as per Romano.
Reports have previously indicated that Chelsea would only consider selling Veiga this month, with a loan deal ruled out by the club. But, the west London giants may be forced to relax their stance following news that Veiga is only interested in a loan move.
How Chelsea would line up with Mathys Tel
What has Enzo Maresca said?
When asked about Veiga’s future at Chelsea ahead of his side’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth on Tuesday, Maresca told reporters: “At the moment, I’m not aware there’s an agreement for Renato.
“The only thing I can say is that yesterday, he was here working with us and today he will be here with us.
“That means that at the moment he is our player. Then we will see if something happens. I’m not aware that there is any agreement already with him.
“We bought Renato from Basel, he arrived here and played in different positions and played well,” Maresca continued. “This allowed him to join the national team for the first time in his life.
“If he is playing for the national team then it probably means that in the position he is playing, he can do well.”
STATS
Renato Veiga
D (CL), M (C)
Chelsea
Renato Veiga
D (CL), M (C)
Chelsea
Veiga has started two matches as a central defender since his arrival at Chelsea, although he has largely been forced to act as Marc Cucurella’s back-up at left-back.
“I had a chat with Renato,” Maresca added. “I said to him exactly the same as I just said to you.
“In terms of playing in the position that he is playing with us, that gave him the chance to join the national team and also probably the chance to get this speculation around him.
“That means clubs are looking for him. Clubs look for players that are doing well, not that are doing badly.
“If there is a player who just wants to play in just one position, they are going to struggle. They have to adapt, they have to learn to play in different positions, which is a good thing for the team.”
