Borussia Dortmund reach ‘total agreement’ for Renato Veiga as Chelsea talks begin over loan move with option to buy | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund have reached a verbal agreement with Chelsea defender Renato Veiga ahead of a potential transfer in January, according to reports.

The Portugal international moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window, arriving from FC Basel, but has struggled for game time this season.

Despite looking impressive in the Conference League, Veiga has failed to displace Marc Cucurella on the left side of Chelsea's defence.

The likes of Malo Gusto and Reece James have been preferred to Veiga, with the versatile defender often playing in midfield.

According to Sky Germany, Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund have reached a verbal agreement with Veiga ahead of a potential move.

The report continues to state that the club are now pushing to sign the 21-year-old, who is 'very keen' on the move.

The German side are now trying to find an agreement with Chelsea over a loan deal with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season

Veiga could be set to depart on an initial loan move after making just seven Premier League appearances this season. / IMAGO / Belga

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was asked about Veiga's future, with fellow Blues outcast Carney Chukwuemeka also linked with a move to Dortmund.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea's 5-0 win over Morecambe, he spoke about the future of the pair, saying: "No Carney won't be included in tomorrow's game, he is a good player but we have so many midfield players that he will struggle for minutes. Renato is our player, tomorrow he'll play and we're happy to have with us."

The Italian continued to admit that he will allow players to leave in January in search of first team football, as he said: "There are players that unfortunately didn't play a lot with us in all the competitions like (Ben) Chilwell, like Carney (Chukwuemeka)," said Maresca.

"Probably they are the first (to say) that they want to leave because they train every day, because they want to play games and if they don't play games probably they are thinking of leaving.

"Each player is a bit different situation, so we're going to see if some of them are coming and knocking on the door to say 'I want to leave' or something like that. We will try to find a solution."

Veiga has made 17 appearances since arriving at Chelsea, with only seven of these coming in the Premier League - a total of 176 minutes.

The majority of his minutes, 540, have come in the Conference League as Chelsea look to lift the European trophy at the end of the season.

It remains to be seen as to whether Veiga will be granted permission to speak to Borussia Dortmund, with the Blues already down to bare bones in defence following injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.