Chelsea willing to offload Benoit Badiashile to reintegrate on-loan star into first team squad in the summer: Reports

Chelsea are reportedly prepared to offload defender Benoit Badiashile to create room for Renato Veiga to return to the club after his loan spell in the summer. The Blues sent the Portugal international to Juventus in January to get regular minutes after he expressed his wish to move temporarily.

TBR Football reports that Chelsea are prepared to let go of Badiashile in the summer to allow Veiga to return to a centre-back role at the club. The French centre-back has struggled with his fitness since arriving from AS Monaco, failing to nail down a regular starting berth.

Badiashile has appeared just 12 times for Enzo Maresca's side this season, having found himself behind Levi Colwill in the starting XI. The 23-year-old picked up a hamstring injury in December and has yet to return to action for the club since then.

Renato Veiga cost the Blues just €14 million from FC Basel last summer and is proving to be an excellent buy. The 21-year-old made 18 appearances for the club before heading out to Juventus, where he has excelled in his preferred centre-back position.

Chelsea have decided to close the door to a permanent exit for Veiga despite reports of a €33 million price tag for the youngster. Instead, they want him to take Badiashile's spot in the squad while the Frenchman will be made available for a transfer in the summer.

Renato Veiga played in a variety of positions at Chelsea but never really got a look in at centre-back. The former Sporting CP man has proven that he has what it takes to play in the position. This has forced the club to choose him over Badiashile, who has played just 45 times in two years.

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Chelsea left sweating over fitness of on-loan star

Chelsea have been left sweating over the fitness of centre-back Renato Veiga after his injury during a game for his loan club Juventus this week. The Portugal international was forced off in the opening minutes as Juventus crashed out of the UEFA Champions League against Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven.

Veiga joined Thiago Motta's side in the January transfer window and quickly became a key player, making five successive starts for the club. He picked up an injury to his right plantaris gracilis tendon in the game against PSV and is expected to spend time on the sidelines.

Juventus do not have a clear timeframe for the recovery of the defender. He may return to his parent club for rehabilitation if the injury proves to be severe. The Blues will hope that he returns to action soon, seeing as he was enjoying a solid run in the Juventus XI prior to his injury.