- Renato Veiga joined Chelsea from Swiss side Basel for £12m in the summer
- Veiga has regularly participated in cup competitions, but could leave this month
- Hear It's all starting! Why Manchester United might have to sell Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho
Chelsea are reluctant to allow Renato Veiga to join Borussia Dortmund on loan but talks could continue over a permanent deal.
Veiga, 21, joined Chelsea from Basel in the summer for £12m and can play as a full-back or centre-back but has been on the fringes of the first team.
The defender has only started once in the Premier League and was even excluded from the Blues' matchday squad by Enzo Maresca in the Boxing Day defeat to Fulham for a “technical” decision.
However, Veiga has been a regular in the cup competitions, with the 21-year-old playing every minute of Chelsea's eight UEFA Conference League ties this season, while he has also featured three times in the FA and the Carabao Cup.
This included all 90 minutes of the 5-0 thrashing of League Two strugglers Morecambe on Saturday afternoon.
Wolves, Bournemouth, Stuttgart, Napoli and Juventus have also shown interest in the Portuguese international, and Veiga is open to leaving to play more regularly as a central defender.
Chelsea reluctant to allow Renato Veiga to join Borussia Dortmund on loan this month
But they are open to Veiga leaving permanently after just one Premier League start.
In addition to Borussia Dortmund, Wolves and Bournemouth are also interested in Veiga
The 21-year-old is one of several Chelsea stars linked with a January exit, with the likes of Ben Chilwell, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Cesare Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka also expected to leave this month.
Meanwhile, despite his lack of playing time, Maresca spoke last week about how he “trusted” Veiga.
“He is the same as Kiernan (Dewsbury-Hall),” Maresca said on Friday. 'Renato is our player, (on Saturday) he is going to play and he is a player we are happy to have here with us.
“The last game he played was against Tottenham and at a delicate moment in the game we put him there. This showed how much we trust Renato.
“But like I said, it's not just what I think, or what the club thinks, or what the player thinks.
“It's something we need to make the right decision for the club, the players and the coach.”
The defender has also broken into the Portuguese national team this season, playing three games for Roberto Martínez's team.
Veiga and Chelsea, currently fourth in the Premier League, return to action on Tuesday when they host Bournemouth.