Renato Veiga will be joining Villarreal at Chelsea Banking for an unnecessary defender signed last summer as Enzo Maresca wants to be welcomed with his new defender.
It has been hailed as Chelsea’s best departure business since Clearlake Capital arrived as owner. Renato Veiga arrived from Basel on a £12 million contract a few months ago, winning one Premier League start before heading to Juventus on loan, and now heading to Villarreal for up to £26 million.
It’s not yet surprising that the sale of the defender comes when head coach Enzo Maresca reveals he’s eager to strengthen his backline after Levi Colwill’s season injury. Benoit Badiashile is still on his way home from injury, but Tosin Adarabioyo is good to play West Ham on Friday night, while several other Fringe Chelsea stars are set to leave in the next 10 days.
Italian manager Maresca has long thought that Veiga is not standard, despite claiming that he values the versatility of now senior Portugal International when he advanced him further in the European Congress League early last season.
However, asking for more game time in his favorite position before heading for loan later in the campaign didn’t help Veiga’s cause either.
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Midway through last season, he asked just before he made a loan to Juve, if Veiga deserves more game time, Maresca joked.
He then cherished the diversity of the 22-year-old Veiga, adding that his use in other roles led to the call of the first senior national team.
“We bought Renato from Basel and he arrived here, played in various positions and played well, which allowed him to join the national team for the first time in his life.
“Maybe if he’s not playing in his position and not in his position, that means he can do well, and in this case, I’m extremely proud that the younger players who joined Chelsea will start playing four or five different positions.
“I chatted with Renato and said he said exactly the same thing I said to you in terms of playing in the position he plays with us, and also gave him the opportunity to join an international team.
“The clubs are looking for players who are doing well, but that’s not a bad thing. If you have a club, players who are doing well with the international team, and, like I said, for me, if you have players who just want to play in one position, they’ll struggle.”
Veiga has launched dozens of Serie A starts in Turin and has earned rave reviews. His sales will exceed £200 million in revenue from sales in this window.
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