Chelsea surprised many when they decided to sign Renato Veiga in the summer and The Athletic’s Simon Johnson has revealed three reasons why they did.
The Blues agreed a deal to sign Veiga for €14m from Swiss side FC Basel and the move literally came out of nowhere.
However, the 21-year-old, who has been called up to the Portugal squad for the upcoming international break has made an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge and is already becoming a fan favourite.
Why Chelsea signed Renato Veiga
Veiga scored his first goal for the club in Thursday night’s 4-2 win against Gent in the Conference League and put in a superb performance.
At times he found himself playing almost as an attacking midfielder and his versatility is a huge plus to Enzo Maresca.
The Blues were linked with Riccardo Calafiori, who eventually joined rivals Arsenal but Johnson has explained in a recent piece in The Athletic why Chelsea decided to sign Veiga.
He wrote:
“Chelsea made a move for Veiga because they like his adaptability. He is taller and a lot cheaper than Riccardo Calafiori, a player they were linked with during the close season but who moved to rivals Arsenal for up to £42m.”
Veiga has certainly impressed fans and Maresca and despite mainly being signed as back-up to Marc Cucurella at left back, he’s filled in at centre back and in midfield already this season.
The Portugal under-20 international clearly has more work to do before he forces his way into the first team on a regular basis in the Premier League, but he’s clearly trusted by the Italian and has appeared in eight out of Chelsea’s ten games in all competitions so far this season.
Veiga will likely find himself on the bench against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, but don’t be surprised if you see him come on because Maresca clearly has a lot of trust in him.
