Chelsea ‘enter race’ for Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga — report

Having lost out on Manuel Ugarte to Paris Saint-Germain and probably likely to lose out on Moisés Caicedo to Arsenal, Chelsea have turned our attentions to another young midfielder, though less of a defensive-focused one, in Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga.

Vigo’s Veiga is yet another highly rated newcomer, just 21 and coming off of his first full senior season. We’ve now “entered the race” for his signature, according to The Guardian, though he’s also on the radars of Barcelona and Liverpool — and we might remember losing out a lot to Barca last summer. His release clause is a healthy €40m.

The Spain U21 international emerged as a key player, box-to-box, for Celta, who had a bit of an up-and-down season before ending up midtable in La Liga under Carlos Carvalhal, the former Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City head coach. They did finish the season on a high note, beating the champions Barcelona, 2-1, with Veiga scoring both goals. He finished the season with 11 goals from midfield, which is something we could certainly use at Chelsea.