Maresca wants Veiga at Chelsea as Juventus prepare offer

The future of Chelsea defender Renato Veiga is increasingly complicated, and it remains unclear where the former Basel star will be plying his trade next season.

According to Calciomercato, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca wants Veiga back at Stamford Bridge after his six-month loan at Juventus.

Meanwhile, the Old Lady is preparing an offer to keep the Portuguese international star. Juventus believe the €50 million price tag Chelsea slapped on the player is a lot and will try to engineer another loan.

However, per the report, Chelsea are unwilling to accept that arrangement. The Blues will ask Juventus to meet their demand, or they take Veiga back, as Maresca is a massive fan.

The Lisbon-born star was an excellent utility player at Chelsea, filling in at left-back, midfield, and centre-back. But after he debuted for Portugal in central defence, he has been keen on playing there, hence the move to Italy on loan.

Juventus lost Gleison Bremer and needed a centre-back. They replaced Bremer with Veiga, who has done a superb job. The 21-year-old has helped Juve keep two clean sheets in seven Serie A appearances, winning 73% of his aerial and 68% of his ground duels.

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea miss Veiga’s skillset. The West Londoners do not have a back-up for Marc Cucurella. They could have used his steel and control in the centre recently. His insistence on playing centre-back proved the sticking point.

Chelsea should keep Veiga, sell Badiashile, and back Maresca – View

Chelsea should keep Veiga next season. Rather than entertain Juventus, the Blues must see Veiga as a key asset moving forward and use him in his favoured centre-back position.

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With Benoit Badiashile constantly struggling to find form and consistency (thanks to injuries), Chelsea can offload the Frenchman to create space for Veiga to step in.

Maresca is keen to reintegrate Veiga and values players with tactical intelligence and positional flexibility. Veiga fits that bill perfectly.

While he should primarily be deployed at centre-back, his ability to cover left-back and defensive midfield roles makes him a strategic depth piece for a squad competing on multiple fronts.