Chelsea and Italian giants Juventus are reportedly planning to hold a transfer summit on Monday to discuss possible deals for two out-of-favour defenders.
The Blues - up until recently - were seen as genuine contenders for Premier League glory under Enzo Maresca but head into Monday's clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers in sixth place in the the table.
Before their recent drop-off, key to Chelsea's early-season success was the ability to field completely different starting lineups in the Premier League and Conference League, and they remain perfect in the latter competition.
However, Maresca's policy of heavily rotating his resources for different competitions has seen many Blues players relegated to the unofficial 'B' team, and several members of that troupe have been tipped to move on this month in search of regular minutes elsewhere.
Two of those players are left-back duo Renato Veiga and Ben Chilwell, and journalist Alfredo Pedulla claims that a meeting will be held on Monday to negotiate a possible double transfer.
Chilwell, Veiga 'climb' Juventus transfer shortlist
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Twenty-one-year-old Veiga arrived at Stamford Bridge from Basel in an £11.8m deal during the summer window, but the youngster has managed a mere 176 minutes in the Premier League to date.
Only one of Veiga's seven appearances in the English top flight has come from the first whistle, and he has not stepped foot onto the pitch for a Premier League game since December's 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
However, Veiga is at least making regular matchday squads under Maresca, and the same cannot be said of the exiled Chilwell, who was quickly frozen out of the squad under the new boss.
The former Leicester City man has played just once this season, a 45-minute EFL Cup run-out against Barrow, and he was omitted from selection for the recent FA Cup crushing of Morecambe owing to the expectation that he would complete a move elsewhere.
The report claims that both Veiga and Chilwell have 'climbed' Juventus' shortlist for left-back options, although Feyenoord's David Hancko and Newcastle United's Lloyd Kelly are also of interest to the Old Lady.
How could Chelsea aid Man City transfer mission?
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Juventus' relentless pursuit of a new left-back comes at a time where Andrea Cambiaso is being heavily linked with a move to Manchester City, whose manager Pep Guardiola previously took Maresca under his wing.
Man City are allegedly preparing a £54.7m bid for the Italy international, who could arrive as a direct replacement for the wantaway Kyle Walker given his versatility and competence on the right-hand side.
Chelsea therefore allowing one or both of Veiga and Chilwell to go to Turin could open the door for City to swoop for Cambiaso, and Juve are reportedly bracing themselves for Man City to make a sizeable offer.
As a result, Thiago Motta is keen to sign a 'stop-gap solution' for the second half of the season, suggesting that Veiga and/or Chilwell could only join Juve on loan.
Ben Knapton
