“Our player” – Enzo Maresca wants to keep Chelsea youngster linked to Juventus | OneFootball

Chelsea boss Enzo Marseca insists he has no plans to deprive himself of the services of his young defender Renato Veiga.

The Bianconeri are looking to sign at least one defender in January to make up for losing Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal to ACL injuries. Moreover, Danilo is on his way out of Continassa after being omitted from the club’s plans. The two parties are reportedly negotiating a contract termination which will allow the 33-year-old to join Napoli on a free transfer later this month.

Therefore, the Serie A giants have been tracking a host of defenders. In recent days, Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo has emerged as the club’s preferred target, with many sources claiming Juve have already made some progress on this track. Furthermore, the likes of Antonio Silva, David Hancko and Fikayo Tomori remain on the shortlist.

While he might not be on top of the wishlist, Veiga has also been mentioned as a potential solution, especially due to his versatility. The 21-year-old is a centre-back by trade, but he’s been deployed at left-back this season.

The Portuguese youngster made the switch from FC Basel to Chelsea last summer, but has yet to start a Premier League match. He has been more active in the cups though, making recurring appearances in the Carabao Cup, UEFA Conference League the FA Cup.

But despite all the exit talks, Maresca revealed his desire to keep Veiga at Stamford Bridge.

“Renato is our player, tomorrow he’ll play and we’re happy to have him with us,” said the Italian manager via ChelseaNews.

Therefore, the Bianconeri will likely have to search elsewhere in their quest to strengthen the backline. And in any case, Veiga never seemed to be a priority target for the Old Lady in the first place, but rather a mere idea.