£25,000-p/w Chelsea ace has now agreed personal terms to leave in January

A Chelsea The star is pushing for a permanent exit from Stamford Bridge this winter and could end his stay at the club before the end of the month, with a move now expected in a move that could force the Blues into the transfer market.

Maresca breaks down transfer plans

The Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca downplayed his side’s need to dip into the transfer market this window after their 5-0 win over Morecamp in the FA Cup third round, despite the difficult situation in Premier League.

Two points from a possible 12 have wiped out any slim hopes of challenging for the Premier League title, with the Blues now in a race to secure a top-four finish as expected to start the campaign.

A long-term injury to Wesley Fofana has sparked indications they may look to sign another centre-back this January, amid links with Crystal Palace centre-back Mark Gwehi, but Maresca shot them down.

“Right now I think we’re OK. The timetable (for Fofana) is between 12 and 16 weeks which is three months and the season could be over. If he can come back early we’ll all be happy. (But) we have Benoit who is close to coming back, we have Josh who is doing well, Axel and Levi (Colwill) who can all do well in the position,” he told the media.

Much of the transfer activity in west London this month is set to be departures, with Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and Ben Chilwell all free to leave this winter and the latter having been snapped up by Maresca. Now, another quitter has been added to them.

Chelsea’s summer signing is pushing to leave

According to the reliable Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea’s summer signing Renato Vega is now “pushing” to leave Stamford Bridge just months after his arrival, with the Portuguese defender keen to feature regularly at centre-back.

Signed from FC Basel for £12m in the summer, Veiga has seen his opportunities limited under Maresca so far, with the 21-year-old starting just one Premier League game, although he has been an ever-present in the Conference League and played 90 minutes in the recent FA Cup win.

However, Romano reports that Veiga wants to play in central defence, something he has yet to do for the Blues, and is therefore pushing for a move away from west London this winter.

It is added that Vega is now “expected” to leavewith Borussia Dortmund said to be among the teams most interested in signing the young talent. Indeed, they have gone so far as to reach a “complete agreement” with the player on a contract at the Bundesliga club, but have yet to make an offer to Chelsea.

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For their part, the Blues are reluctant to loan out Vega, who still has six-and-a-half years to run £25,000 a week deal at Stamford Bridge. Instead, they are pushing for a permanent deal and are demanding €30m to let him go, which would represent a huge return on their initial outlay. With the defender keen on a move away, a deal looks highly likely in the coming weeks.