Selling Renato Veiga creates perfect space for Chelsea to sign exceptional wonderkid | OneFootball

Ajax defender Jorrel Hato has been linked with us going back to December, and it doesn’t look like that talk is going anywhere.

The Dutchman is a true prodigy, starting regular games in the Eredivisie and Champions League as a teenager, and has all of Europe’s top sides chasing him. CaughtOffside today report that the Blues, along with Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool are all preparing moves to try and persuade the defender to join them this summer.

Now 19, Hato is so mature beyond his years, and when you watch an Ajax game you’d never know you were watching someone so young. He’s very composed on the ball and in his defending.

His ability to play at left back or centre back makes him a really interesting option for the Blues. Given his skillset, it’s easy to see him playing in the same roles that Marc Cucurella does. And we certainly need reinforcements there assuming the plan is to sell on Renato Veiga, who filled that role as Cucurella’s backup in the first half of this season.

Hato set to join procession of top defensive talents on the market this summer

Chelsea target Jorrel Hato in action for Ajax (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

If Veiga is sold for a healthy profit and we also manage to move on other left back options like Ben Chilwell on permanent deals, we can certainly see Hato being a player we push hard for.

However with so much competition from top teams for him, it’s not going to be easy. Hato, along with players like Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth, are going to be in hot demand, and there it will be very interesting to see where the chips fall in the end.

While it’s a competitive market, we certainly wouldn’t rule out Chelsea just yet.