Atletico Madrid have reportedly put Chelsea defender Renato Veiga on their summer wish list.
Los Colchoneros are considering Veiga’s merits against other options but will have to be decisive if they want to scoop him up.
That’s because ‘many’ clubs are said to have enquired about the 21-year-old, who is valued between £26million and £30m, according to transfer reporter Florian Plettenberg.
Veiga joined Chelsea from Basel last summer for £12m but has struggled to break into the first team. That means they could more than double their money on him – something they almost did by selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal in a £52m deal.
The Portuguese has made just seven Premier League appearances, mostly being confined to cup outings, and spent the latter half of last season on loan at Juventus.
He was a regular starter for Juventus as they qualified for the Champions League and as such there is much interest in him.
Chelsea could sell Renato Veiga to Atletico Madrid for as much as £30million – just 18 months after signing him for £12m from Basel
The young defender has only managed seven Premier League appearances for the Blues
Chelsea almost doubled their cash in selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal in a £52m deal
However, any suitors will have to fork out a competitive sum because he is contracted until 2031.
Whoever signs him will certainly be getting a versatile player – Veiga can play at centre-back, the left side of defence, or in midfield.
Wolves and Bournemouth were interested in him in January – and both could do with a centre-back – but Juventus won a scramble which also included Napoli and Stuttgart.
It has been Chelsea’s custom in the BlueCo era to sign and sell players with joyful abandon and this transfer window is proving no different.
They have already forked out upwards of £210m on Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Estevao Willian, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr, and Kendry Paez.
A lavish spend, but they have recouped almost half that sum by selling Madueke, Djordje Petrovic, Bashir Humphreys, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, and Mathis Amougou, while they have let go of Lucas Bergstrom on a free.
You’d be forgiven if you weren’t so familiar with some of those. Chelsea’s website lists 33 first-team players.
Amougou only joined in February from Saint-Etienne on an eight-year deal but he has already been sold after two appearances to Strasbourg, who are also owned by BlueCo.
Goalkeeper Bergstrom, meanwhile, never managed an appearance across three years with the club while academy graduate Humphreys has signed for Burnley after loans with Paderborn, Swansea City, and the Clarets.
