Done deal – How Juventus rallied to pull off Renato Veiga agreement with Chelsea | OneFootball

Juventus are now expected to reach the finish line ahead of their competitors in their attempts to sign Renato Veiga from Chelsea.

The Bianconeri have been searching the market for new defenders after losing Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal to season-ending injuries, while Danilo already has one foot outside the door.

The club’s quest to bolster Thiago Motta’s ranks led them to a host of surveys, and they have been linked with a host of profiles, including the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Antonio Silva and David Hancko, not to mention Ronald Araujo and Milan Skriniar.

But in the end, it seems that Veiga turned out to be the one, or at least one among several new acquisitions who should arrive to strengthen Juve’s depleted defence.

According to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Juventus have an agreement in principle with Chelsea over the 21-year-old’s transfer.

The Portuguese defender will reportedly sign for the Serie A giants on a dry loan until the end of the season for 4.5 million euros. But while the sum might seem excessive for a six-month deal, the good news for Juventus is that the Blues have agreed to cover the player’s full salary during his stay in Turin, in addition to agent fees.

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Il Corriere dello Sport (via JuventusNews24) explains how Juventus Football Director Cristiano Giuntoli blitzed to London to convince Chelsea who were reluctant to send the player to Italy, as they were in the midst of negotiations with Borussia Dortmund.

Nevertheless, the Bundesliga giants never made an official proposal, perhaps occupied by the sacking of their head coach Nuri Sahin on Wednesday. This gave the Bianconeri the opening they needed to overtake the Germans, and Giuntoli pulled off the coup at the ideal timing.

Veiga joined Chelsea last summer for 14 million euros after impressing during his stint at FC Basel. However, he found playing time hard to come by at Stamford Bridge, only making one start in the Premier League.

The youngster is a central defender by trade, but Enzo Marseca has been deploying him at left-back.