Chelsea spent £540m on new signings last season, flooding the first-team with defenders, midfielders and forwards, but it appears they’re not slowing down this summer despite the bloated squad. Tom Gott and Graeme Bailey of 90min claim that Chelsea are interested in signing Gabri Veiga, but thy’ll face stiff competition from Liverpool for his signature.
Enzo Fernandez, Denis Zakaria (loan) and Carney Chukwuemeka were brought in to strengthen Chelsea’s engine room last summer, but Fernandez was the only regular in 2022/23. Mauricio Pochettino needs replacements as Chelsea endured a midfield exodus in the last two transfer window opens.
Jorginho was sold to Arsenal, Zakaria returned to Juventus, N’Golo Kante joined Al-Ittihad and Mateo Kovacic joined Manchester City, so the Blues are short of options in a key area. Veiga wouldn’t be a defensive option, however, as he’s far more deadly in the final third of the pitch – the 21-year-old scored 11 goals with four assists from 36 La Liga games last season.
Veiga is a creative player who is comfortable driving from deep in possession, and he’d be a terrific signing for Chelsea. However, 90min says the Blues will face stiff competition for his signature from Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp has signed Alexis MacAllister and Dominic Szoboszlai to bolster his midfield, but the Liverpool boss still wants another midfielder and Veiga is on his radar.
Chelsea and Liverpool could now battle it out over a deal for the Spaniard, but they’ll face further competition with 90min suggesting that the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Man City and Newcastle United are also interested parties.
Veiga rose through the youth ranks to Celta Vigo’s first team in 2022 and has gone on to make 55 appearances in all competitions, having a hand in 15 goals. The 21-year-old, who has represented Spain at U21 level, has three years remaining on his deal at the Estadio de Balaídos, so Celta hold all the cards in negotiations.
Fabrizio Romano said at the end of May that Veiga has a release clause of €40m (£34m), so he won’t break the bank. With so much interest in his signature, however, it might all depend on which club present the best chance of development and success.
