It is fair to say that Roberto Martinez was impressed with Chelsea star Renato Veiga in Portugal’s 3-1 win against Poland on Saturday.
Roberto Martinez handed Renato Veiga his first Portugal cap after starting the 21-year-old in central defence.
Pedro Neto also started the game, while Joao Felix was named as a substitute, so it was a match that Chelsea fans took a keen interest in.
Many Chelsea supporters liked what they saw from Veiga, who is likely to start the Blues’ next game following Marc Cucurella’s suspension.
Roberto Martinez praises Chelsea defender Renato Veiga
In Robert Lewandowski, Veiga went up against one of the best centre-forwards in the world.
It is not an easy challenge, but Martinez thinks Veiga coped well and loved how focused and aggressive he was against the Barcelona centre-forward.
Speaking to A Bola after the game, the 51-year-old said: “I’m very satisfied because he didn’t play like a young player, he showed an incredible maturity. Good connection with Ruben Dias and Nuno Mendes. And it was demanding to play against Poland and against Lewandowski.
“He was focused and aggressive, he won all the duels, he is very strong in the air. I really liked his performance. I’m happy, but not surprised. We saw his potential during the September internship, now we saw that he was prepared.
“Renato’s debut shows the potential he has and presents a different profile from what we had. We are talking about a game against one of the best players in modern football [Lewandowski].”
While Veiga played in central defence for Portugal on Saturday, he has started one game in midfield in the Premier League this season. And former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy thinks Veiga is a “monster” there.
Renato Veiga and Pedro Neto squad players for Chelsea at the moment
Veiga and Neto both started for Portugal against Poland, while the former will probably be named in Enzo Maresca‘s first XI next weekend.
However, at Chelsea, the two Portugal internationals are squad players right now despite the latter costing the club over £50m in the summer.
So far this season, Maresca has preferred Cucurella and Noni Madueke over Veiga and Neto. Madueke has scored four goals in six Premier League games, including a hat-trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
There are a lot of games left in this campaign, though, so Veiga and Neto should still get plenty of opportunities. With his versatility, Veiga is almost certain to, with the former Basel man eyeing a starting spot for the Liverpool game.
He is above Ben Chilwell in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge so should get the nod at Anfield next Sunday.
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