Fabrizio Romano: Juventus in talks with Chelsea for young defender | OneFootball

Juventus have reportedly joined Borussia Dortmund in the race to sign young Chelsea defender Renato Veiga.

The Bianconeri are still adamant about signing two new central defenders before the end of the January transfer session to compensate for the injuries of Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal and the imminent departure of Danilo.

Over the past few weeks, their main options have been Fikayo Tomori, David Hancko, Antonio Silva and Ronald Araujo, but they haven’t been able to find the breakthrough on any of these tracks for various reasons.

Therefore, new names have surfaced on the scene in recent days, including the likes of Lilian Brassier and Thomas Kristensen.

But according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Juventus have set their sights on Veiga who is seeing little playing time at Chelsea.

The 21-year-old is a Sporting CP youth product who had his breakout campaign last season at FC Basel, which earned him a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer. The Portuguese is a centre-back by trade, but is being deployed at left-back by Enzo Marseca, and often making appearances in the Conference League and the other cup competitions.

Romano believes the Bianconeri have already launched talks with Chelsea as they look to secure the player’s services in January, even if on a temporary basis. The transfer market insider nonetheless reveals that Borussia Dortmund remain in the race, having already opened a dialogue with the Blues in recent days.

Moreover, Juventus are simultaneously following Newcastle United’s Lloyd Kelly, reveals Romano. After all, one new defender would not suffice at this stage.

On Sunday, reports claimed that the Bianconeri are keen to sign the 26-year-old who has yet to cement himself as a regular starter with the Magpies. On Monday morning, almost every major publication in Italy is reporting the story.