Why Renato Veiga wanted to leave Chelsea temporarily as Juventus loan switch confirmed | OneFootball

Chelsea defender Renato Veiga has joined Juventus on loan until the end of the season.

Veiga only joined last summer from Swiss club FC Basel in an £11.8m deal and made 18 appearances for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca this season.

The 21-year-old requested to depart Chelsea for the second half of the season and despite interest from Borussia Dortmund, the Blues agreed a deal with Italian side Juventus.

Veiga's loan switch has now been confirmed and he will wear the number 12 shirt for the Turin based side.

Why did Renato Veiga request to leave Chelsea until the end of the season?

According to multiple reports, Veiga grew frustrated with playing at left-back and preferred to play at centre-back.

Veiga's short-term and long-term future remained unclear, however the defender made it clear he wanted to return to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Since joining Chelsea, Veiga has earned his first senior call-up to the Portugal national team. Head coach Enzo Maresca believes the club played a pivotal part in that, to become recognised by interested clubs and Portugal.

Earlier this month, the Chelsea boss reaffirmed his position of wanting his players to be versatile otherwise they would struggle.

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“In terms of playing in the position that he is playing with us, that gave him the chance to join the national team and also probably the chance to get this speculation around him," reacted Maresca to Veiga's centre-back stance. "That means clubs are looking for him. Clubs look for players that are doing well, not that are doing badly.

“If there is a player who just wants to play in just one position, they are going to struggle. They have to adapt, they have to learn to play in different positions, which is a good thing for the team."