It is often the way that a player needs to leave Chelsea to realise his potential, just as it was for the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah. A Portuguese star is just realising that.
Salah and De Bruyne both joined Chelsea young, but after struggling to reach their potential in a Blues shirt, were forced to leave and finally live up to their hype at Roma and Wolfsburg before returning.
It is often the case, and not just at Chelsea, but at a lot of big clubs with big squads. When there is so much depth, it leads to a player failing to get game time and the necessary rhythm needed to shine.
We had the whole of January to sign Jeremy Jacquet and come up short 😡
Who is to blame for this?!
Fabrizio Romano update on Jeremy Jacquet
Photo by Ramsey Cardy – Sportsfile/UEFA via Getty Images
One player who recently left Chelsea is finally showing what he was brought to Stamford Bridge for, but instead of doing it in a Chelsea shirt, he is doing it in Spain and for Roberto Martinez’s Portugal side.
Roberto Martinez discusses Renato Veiga’s impressive growth
In the summer of 2024, Chelsea paid £12m to sign Renato Veiga from Basel – the same club they bought Salah from. It came after Veiga’s impressive stints in Switzerland and on loan at Augsburg from Sporting.
At the time, Veiga was still a teenager and managing just 18 appearances for Chelsea, he was loaned to Juventus for the second half of last season. Returning in the summer, Villarreal chose to buy him.
Renato Veiga celebrates after Portugal beat Spain to win the 2025 UEFA Nations League.
Photo by Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Chelsea made an immediate profit on Veiga, raking in as much as £26m for Veiga who has since earned nine Portugal caps. He’s starring for the La Liga side, already having played an impressive 28 times.
With the World Cup getting closer, Portugal boss Martinez spoke to Mundo Maldini and explained how Veiga has impressed him. He claims that now a defender, Veiga is really improving under Marcelino.
“Renato Veiga, also left-footed, who gives us very good balance. He has already been at three or four clubs with a very high level of demand. He went through Sporting, goes to Switzerland, then Chelsea.
“That’s where I think he really settles into his position on the pitch. He started out a bit as a number 6. A defensive midfielder, now he’s more of a centre-back, working well with Marcelino and improving a lot.”
Were Chelsea right to sell Renato Veiga to Villarreal?
It is typical that Chelsea are now in the market and pursuing defenders like Jeremy Jacquet and Tylel Tati, having literally just sold Veiga to Villarreal. Of course, this is Todd Boehly’s model; resale value is key.
Admit it, Chelsea were wrong to sell Renato Veiga 🤔
Especially, with Chelsea trying to sign Jacquet!
Of course, turning a profit of more than double in a year is impressive, spending £12m to receive £26m. But if Chelsea want a centre-back, a young one, surely they would have been better off keeping Veiga?
This is now a player who is set to go into the World Cup with more than 10 caps with Portugal, and play for his country on the biggest stage. This is a player who has impressed in the Champions League.
If Chelsea are scouting young centre-backs that Liam Rosenior can nurture, then there is no doubt that the Portuguese ace will have shown up on their databases. It feels like a mistake to have cashed in.
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