Chelsea confirm fifth signing of summer in £12m deal
- Versatile 20-year-old signs seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge
- Veiga arrives from Swiss outfit FC Basel - former club of Mohamed Salah
- £12m deal the fifth incoming deal concluded by Chelsea
Chelsea have completed the signing of FC Basel's Renato Veiga in a deal believed to be worth £12m.
The 20-year-old has followed in the footsteps of a number of Chelsea's more recent signings, penning a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
"I’m absolutely buzzing to be here," Veiga told Chelsea's official club channels. "This is one of the biggest clubs in England – the biggest for me – and I’m just really excited to get started."
Veiga joins Tosin Adarabioyo, Omari Kellyman, Marc Guiu and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Chelsea, in addition to new head coach Enzo Maresca, though it's unlikely that he'll immediately challenge for a first-team place.
An academy graduate of Portuguese giants Sporting CP, Veiga has spent time in the Bundesliga on loan with Augsburg, playing 13 times, before earning a move to Swiss side FC Basel – the club Mohamed Salah played for in the formative years of his career.
26 appearances later, Veiga, who is a Portugal Under-21 international, has done enough to persuade Chelsea to part ways with £12m, with his contract that runs until 2031 also containing an additional 12-month option.
Chelsea's summer window has been fairly frenetic already, with the club looking to land a marquee striker while trying to comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules.
The need for sales before June 30's PSR deadline saw Ian Maatsen and Omari Hutchinson hurried out of the door to Aston Villa and Ipswich Town respectively, but also saw Kellyman arrive from Villa for just shy of £20m.
Dewsbury-Hall's move from Leicester City was confirmed in July, reuniting the English midfielder with Maresca after he successfully led the Foxes to the Championship title after their shock relegation 12 months prior.
Chelsea are expected to sanction further signings and sales before the summer window slams shut, with Karim Adeyemi a potential incoming and stand-in captain for most of last season, Conor Gallagher, a potential casualty of the BlueCo regime.
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