Atletico Madrid make move to sign €40m Chelsea defender

Atletico Madrid are in the market for a new central defender, with new targets being lined up after ending their interest in Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero, who had been their priority for the position.

So far this summer, Atleti have signed Alex Baena, Matteo Ruggeri, Thiago Almada and Johnny Cardoso, and while moves are being made for Ademola Lookman to complete their attacking options, the club’s priority is to add a new centre-back to compete with Robin Le Normand, Jose Maria Gimenez and Robin Le Normand.

After walking away from the Romero deal, Atleti have continued snooping in the Premier League, with interest having been registered in Chelsea’s Renato Veiga, who was on loan at Juventus last season. And they have now taken the next step in efforts to sign the 21-year-old, who has played five times for Portugal.

As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Atleti have started talks with Veiga’s representatives, and they have been informed that the defender would be open to making the move to the RiyadhAir Metropolitano.

Chelsea set steep asking price for Veiga

Atleti are preparing to advance their interest in Veiga after receiving this positive response, but it will not be easy to sign him this summer. Chelsea are asking for a package worth at least €40m in order to let him leave, which would represent significant profit for them after he was brought in from FC Basel in 2024 for only €14m.

So far this summer, Atleti have already spent in excess of €120m on signing Baena, Ruggeri, Almada and Ruggeri, with approximately €18m having been recouped from the sales of Rodrigo Riquelme (to Real Betis) and Angel Correa (to Tigres). It will be interesting to see whether they have the money available to pursue an agreement with Chelsea for Veiga, who could be a very shrewd signing.