Chelsea sales reach £250m as Veiga fee is agreed

Renato Veiga, a defender, will be sold to Villarreal for a fee that will rise to £26 million, increasing Chelsea’s overall player sales to over £250 million this summer.

After agreeing to pay close to their transfer fee, Veiga, 22, is expected to sign a seven-year contract and go to the hospital in Spain on Thursday.

The Portugal international, who had requested to play at left-back midway through last season, was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Enzo Maresca and was training with the so-called “bomb squad,” a group of senior players away from the first team.

Veiga, who left for FC Basel in 2024 for £12 million, will bring in a sizable profit for Chelsea.

Atletico Madrid showed interest earlier in the transfer window while Veiga spent a portion of the season on loan at Juventus.

Chelsea will now earn an estimated £251.7 million from selling 11 players, leaving the remaining £277 million to be spent on nine new players during a busy transfer summer.

Noni Madueke’s initial £48 million move to Arsenal, Joao Felix’s proposed £43.7 million move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s £28 million move to Everton have been the biggest sales.

Before the transfer window closes on September 1st, Chelsea are still interested in signing RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons and Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho.