'All set' - Fabrizio Romano major update on £12m Chelsea move as 'medical done' and contract 'signed today'

Chelsea are close to completing their sixth signing of the summer with Renato Veiga having passed his medical, poised to sign an eight-year deal at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have already added Marc Guiu, Tosin Adarabioyo, Estevao Willian, Omari Kellyman and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to their ranks ahead of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has revealed that a deal to sign Veiga is ‘all set’ after Chelsea agreed a deal worth just under £12m with FC Basel. The player completed his medical on Wednesday and is set to sign an eight-year contract, running until 2032.

Veiga is a defensive midfielder by trade but has less than two seasons of experience in senior football. He started his career with Sporting CP before joining Bundesliga side FC Augsburg on loan where he made 13 appearances.

Last summer, he made the move to Basel for a reported fee of around £3.5m. He signed a four-year deal, with 10 per cent of Chelsea’s £12m deal set to go to Sporting after they agreed a sell-on clause with Basel. Veiga made 26 appearances in all competitions for the Swiss club last term, scoring two goals and providing one assist. The 20-year-old has represented Portugal at Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 level but has yet to earn a senior cap.

Chelsea have started their pre-season preparations with the start of the Premier League campaign just over one month away. In his first interview with the club, new boss Maresca is eager to get started.

“I’m very excited. One of the reasons I’m here is because I’m convinced the squad is very good and full of talent. The most important thing now is we’re able to create the right culture that drives us for the season,” he said. “I always say the same: if you are able to improve players then you are able to improve the team. So it’s our target to try to improve all of them day by day.”

He added on his excitement on working with the players: “It’s very important because we need to know each other [myself and the players]. I already feel I know all of them to be honest because I’ve watched so many games in the last two or three weeks. So feel I know all of them. But it’s always different when you spend day by day with the person. You can see them through games but when you spend day by day with the players, with the human beings, the people, you receive a different kind of feeling. So it’s very important to start on Monday and I’m very excited.”

And in a message to the club’s fans, he added: “Just trust the process, trust the idea, be behind the team. For sure we are going to enjoy the journey. Like at every club, for every manager, it will not be easy because nothing is easy. But for sure we are going to enjoy our journey.”