- Renato Veiga joined Chelsea from Swiss side Basel for £12million in the summer
- Veiga has regularly featured in cup competitions, but could leave this month
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Chelsea are reluctant to allow Renato Veiga to join Borussia Dortmund on loan but talks could continue over a permanent deal.
Veiga, 21, joined Chelsea from Basel in the summer for £12million and can play full back or centre back, but has been on the fringes of the first team.
The defender has started just once in the Premier League and was even left out of the Blues’ matchday squad by Enzo Maresca for their Boxing Day defeat by Fulham due to a ‘technical’ decision.
However, Veiga has been a regular in cup competitions, with the 21-year-old playing every minute of Chelsea’s eight UEFA Conference League ties this season, while he has also featured three times across the FA and Carabao Cup.
This included all 90 minutes of the 5-0 thumping of League Two strugglers Morecambe on Saturday afternoon.
Wolves, Bournemouth, Stuttgart, Napoli and Juventus have also shown interest in the Portugal international – and Veiga is open to leaving for more regular game time at centre back.
Chelsea are reluctant to allow Renato Veiga to join Borussia Dortmund on loan this month
But, they are open to Veiga’s permanent departure after just one start in the Premier League
Alongside Borussia Dortmund, Wolves and Bournemouth are also interested in Veiga
The 21-year-old is one of several Chelsea stars linked with a January exit, with the likes of Ben Chilwell, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Cesare Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka also expected to depart this month.
Meanwhile, despite his lack of gametime, Maresca spoke last week about how he ‘trusted’ Veiga.
‘He’s the same as Kiernan (Dewsbury-Hall), Maresca said on Friday. ‘Renato is our player, [on Saturday] he’s going to play and he’s a player that we’re happy to have here with us.
‘The last game he played was Tottenham away and in a delicate moment of the game we put him there. This showed how we trust Renato.
‘But as I said, it’s not just what I think, or what the club thinks, or what the player thinks.
‘It’s something that altogether we need to make the right decision for the club and the players and the manager.’
The defender has also broken into the Portugal squad this season, winning three caps for Roberto Martinez’s side.
Veiga and Chelsea, who currently sit fourth in the Premier League, return to action on Tuesday when they host Bournemouth.
