Fabrizio Romano confirms 'permanent' Chelsea transfer stance on defender amid Bundesliga 'agreement'
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Chelsea defender Renato Veiga could see himself on the move during the January transfer window, amid interest from both Bundesliga and Serie A giants. Veiga, 21, has made just seven Premier League appearances so far this season after signing from £11m from Basel in the summer transfer window. However, recent reports have linked him with a transfer away, just six months into his Chelsea career.
Borussia Dotmund are said to have made a verbal agreement with Veiga over a loan deal with an option to buy, however, the Blues have set their transfer stance on the 21-year-old suggesting that they would only agree to a permanent deal.
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Hide AdAccording to Fabrizio Romano on X, Chelsea will only let the full-back leave Stamford Bridge if it is a permanent move rather than a straight-up loan or a loan-to-buy deal. He said: “Chelsea are currently only opening the doors to Renato Veiga’s exit on a permanent deal. He’s pushing for a new chapter to play centre back on a regular basis.”
Romano also confirmed interest from Dortmund but also suggested that there is transfer interest from several of Europe’s top leagues.He added: “Borussia Dortmund agreed with Veiga. Chelsea also received approaches from top clubs in Italy, France and PL sides.”
Maresca continues to play Veiga out of preferred position
Veiga can play across the defensive line, however, despite being a natural full-back, the Portuguese defender wants more game time at centre-back, a chance that he could get in time due to the long-term injury to Wesley Fofana. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has continued to play Veiga in the full-back position. He doubled down on his selection decision and denied any transfer interest for Veiga in his Monday press conference.
He said: “At the moment, I am not aware that there is an agreement for Renato [Veiga]. Yesterday he was here working with us and today he will be here. At the moment, he is our player. The only thing I can say is that we bought Renato from Basel, he has played in different positions and has played well. This has allowed him to be in the senior national team for the first time in his life. Even if he is not playing in his position, it means he can do well in the position he is playing.”
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Hide AdWhen asked about Veiga wanting more game time at Chelsea, Maresca simply replied: “I have said many times: I also want the long hair [laughs] but we have 24 or 25 players, so it is not possible."
Chelsea looking to strengthen in defence in January
Maresca is opting not to play Veiga at centre-back in place of Fofana, but reports have suggested that the Chelsea boss is keen to bring in a defender in January in order to fill the void that Fofana has left in his defence.
The Blues have been linked with Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, who they had been previously linked with during the summer transfer window. There has been no indication from Palace that the defender wants to leave this month however.
As an alternative to the England international, Chelsea have also been linked to Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo, with an asking price reported at around £58.7m, a considerable price cut on the £70m price tag which has been set for Guehi.
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