'Official' - Fabrizio Romano confirms £4m loan deal amid Newcastle United transfer approach
Juventus have announced the signing of Renato Veiga as a move for Newcastle United defender Lloyd Kelly grows increasingly unlikely.
Veiga arrived in Turin on Monday to complete his medical and other formalities ahead of joining on a six-month loan deal from Chelsea. According to Fabrizio Romano, the loan fee is €3.8m plus €1.5m add-ons with no option to buy included.
The 21-year-old only joined the Blues from FC Basel in the summer but has found game time hard to come by.
And Kelly too has struggled for minutes at Newcastle since arriving on a free transfer from AFC Bournemouth, starting just four of the club’s opening 23 Premier League matches. His last came in November when the Magpies lost 2-0 to West Ham United.
There has been a lot of noise in the Italian media regarding Juve’s hopes of signing the 26-year-old but head coach Eddie Howe told reporters on Friday the club haven’t received an offer worth considering.
"I think it's a slightly different situation with Lloyd,” said Howe when asked if Kelly could follow Miguel Almiron out of the exit door. “I've seen a little bit of the speculation on Lloyd. We've certainly not had any bid anywhere close to making the club make a decision on that.
"Lloyd's an integral part of what we're doing from my perspective. His challenge is to try and work his way into the team. He's only just arrived, so I think he's got a lot to achieve here. So, a very different situation.
“It's not ideal [speculation], but I haven't seen Lloyd distracted. I haven't seen a player whose head and heart are not in Newcastle, which is really important for me. If that was the case, then I'd certainly be addressing that with him.
“He's trained well. He's fighting for a place and that's what I expect him to do.”