Enzo Maresca's 'aggressive' £12m transfer gift may be Chelsea blessing

Chelsea’s fresh signing Renato Veiga is raring to showcase his talents during the club’s pre-season tour, eager to cement his place in Enzo Maresca’s squad for the upcoming seasons. The 20 year old talent, who recently joined from Basel for a cool £12million, is looking forward to donning the Chelsea jersey in the imminent friendlies.

The Blues are gearing up for an action-packed summer tour across the United States, where they’ll face off against teams like Wrexham, Celtic, Club America, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. Veiga, brimming with anticipation, is keen to hit the ground running in west London and demonstrate his worth on the field.

In a candid chat on Chelsea’s official website, Veiga expressed his playing style: “I’m a smart, aggressive player,” he remarked. “I’m comfortable on the ball and I would describe myself as a complete player due to my versatility.”

Veiga further elaborated on his adaptability, stating, “I’m comfortable in many positions on the pitch. I wouldn’t say I have a favourite position because it depends on the opponent or tactical elements, but I have played at left-back, centre-back and as a defensive midfielder.”

With a passion for defence and a physique to match, Veiga added, “I like to defend a lot and with my height and physical strength, I enjoy it. I like to control the game with or without the ball.”

The Portuguese Under-21 international will certainly provide Maresca with a variety of options throughout the pre-season and beyond, given his ability to play in multiple roles. In the 2023/24 season, Veiga primarily played as a holding midfielder for Basel, but also took on the roles of central and attacking midfielder.

He also demonstrated his versatility by playing as a centre-back four times for the Swiss club, and made seven appearances in this position for Portugal Under-21s during their UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign. Veiga’s experience extends to the left-back position, having played there four times for German side Augsburg in the 2022/23 season.

Despite being more defensively inclined due to his roles in defence or midfield, the gifted player still ranks impressively high among playmaker creators under the age of 21 across 70 global leagues.

According to CIES Football Observatory’s performance index, Veiga is in the top ten, ranking fourth with a score of 72.2 out of 100.

Oscar Zambrano of LDU. Quito in Ecuador tops the list with a score of 77.1, closely followed by Petar Sucic of Dinamo Zagreb in second place with 75.4 and Facundo Bernal of Defensor SC in Uruguay rounding off the top three with 75.0.

Arsenal midfielder Charlie Patino, who ranked seventh with a score of 68.8 after his loan spell at Swansea City, also features in the top ten.

Veiga’s skills are set to be a major asset for Chelsea in the coming years, following his signing of a seven-year contract with an additional one-year option at Stamford Bridge.

The new recruit may get his first chance to shine in Chelsea colours as early as next week, when the west London side take on League One outfit Wrexham in Santa Clara, California on Thursday, July 25 (3am BST).