Napoli have submitted a second official bid for in-demand Spanish youngster Gabri Veiga as they attempt to steal a march on Liverpool and Chelsea. Both clubs are said to be keen on acquiring the Celta Vigo midfielder’s services though neither has shown the same concrete interest as Napoli, who are accelerating their push for Veiga.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Napoli submitted a £25.8million bid for the player on Tuesday which was swiftly rejected by the La Liga outfit, who aren’t willing to let Veiga go for less than his £34.4m release clause. Napoli remain in talks with Celta Vigo as they look to get the deal over the line as quickly as possible.
Reports in Spain claim that Liverpool submitted an opening bid of £21.5m for Veiga last week. According to Deportes COPE Galicia, they have also added the option to loan him back to Celta Vigo for the 2023/2024 campaign in an attempt to bring down his price.
The Reds are currently struggling to get a deal for Romeo Lavia over the line and are keeping their options open in case an agreement can’t be reached with Southampton. Liverpool recently had a £46m bid rejected and are understood to have already made an improved offer.
The Saints want at least £50m for the 19-year-old and aren’t prepared to compromise. Chelsea, on the other hand, have not made a bid for Veiga yet. They are looking to bring in a more defensively-minded midfielder to allow Enzo Fernandez to express himself more in the centre of the park.
Although Veiga is capable of operating across all areas of the midfield he has typically been deployed as either a traditional centre midfielder or an attacking midfielder for club and country. The Blues recently made contact with Leeds United’s Tyler Adams and are reportedly preparing to make an offer for the American but also hold Veiga in high regard.
A product of the Celta Vigo academy, Veiga made his senior debut for the reserves at 17 before breaking into the first team in the following season. The 21-year-old spent the next two years bouncing between the B team and A team before establishing himself as a regular starter during the 2022/2023 campaign.
Veiga made 36 appearances in La Liga, scoring 11 goals and assisting four. His excellent performances won him the La Liga Player of the Month award for February and caught the attention of many top clubs around Europe. It is expected he will leave the Estadio de Balaidos this summer though his destination is presently unclear.