Chelsea star agrees January loan exit six months after joining club

Chelsea defender Renato Veiga has agreed a deal to join Juventus on loan for the rest of the season, according to reports.

Veiga joined Chelsea in a £12 million deal from Swiss side Basel last summer but he has been unable to secure a regular role in the team under Enzo Maresca.

So far this season, the 21-year-old has played just 177 minutes in the Premier League and the majority of his playing time has been in the Conference League.

Viega played a full game at left-back in Chelsea’s 5-0 win over Morecambe in the FA Cup third round last weekend but the Portugal international may now be on the move.

Reports earlier in the week had linked Veiga with a move to German side Borussia Dortmund, although that deal has since broken down.

And now, according to Fabrizio Romano, the defender will join Serie A side Juventus on loan for the rest of the campaign.

The deal is said to cost Juve €5m (£4.2m) and does not include an option to make the loan permenant in the summer.

While Veiga has got most of his minutes as a backup for Marc Cucurella at full-back, the versatile defender is expected to be used as a centre-back in Thiago Motta’s side.

Juventus currently sit fifth in Serie A and 13 points behind league leaders Napoli. Their most recent outing was a 0-0 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Speaking only last week, Maresca appeared unaware of reports linking Veiga with an exit but praised the 21-year-old for his development since arriving at Chelsea.

‘The only thing I can say is that we bought him from Basel, he’s played different positions, played well, and this has allowed him to join the national team for the first time in his life,’ Maresca said.

‘Even if he’s not playing in his position, he’s playing for his national team which means that in the position he is playing, he can do well.

‘In this case, a young player who is 21 years, joined Chelsea and started to play in four or five different positions, that’s given him the chance to join his national team so we are very proud of that.’

Veiga could be one of several players offloaded by Chelsea in the January window, with midfielder Cesare Casadei also attracting interest from Italy.

The midfielder, who enjoyed a loan spell at Leicester City under Maresca, has also struggled for minutes this season, with reports suggesting that Lazio have already tabled an £11.5m bid to sign the 22-year-old.

Ben Chilwell is another who has been frozen out by Maresca at Stamford Bridge, but the Englishman’s £190,000-per-week wages have reportedly proved a stumbling block in securing him an exit so far.

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