Gabri Veiga’s next club decision is obvious amid Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool interest

I am suffering, so you must too. Every time I read Gabriel Veiga’s name, I end up with ‘We Like To Party’ by the Vengaboys stuck in my head on a ceaseless, repeating loop of Eurodance corniness - and at this present moment in time, I’m reading Gabriel Veiga’s name a lot.

You see, I’ve got something to tell you, I’ve got news for you; the Celta Vigo midfielder is a man in demand this summer, and if the relevant scribblers and tattlers are to be believed, he is attracting plenty of interest from the Premier League. Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Liverpool are all said to be primed and ready with pitches on why he should park his proverbial Veigabus at their stop on his intercity disco, and the speculation surrounding his future is expected to grow exponentially.

But where would be the best destination for the young Spaniard? Well, hey now, hey now, hear what I say now, an opinion piece is just around the corner...

Newcastle United

Let’s start in the North East, where everything is black and white and rosy all over. Once the ground staff have finished vacuuming up the errant confetti and sausage roll crumbs from its recent Sam Fender weekender, St. James’ Park will host Champions League football next season, and Newcastle United’s transfer ambitions are likely to shift accordingly with their newfound continental status.

Money, of course, is no object for the Magpies, but for the first time in a long, long time, they are actually able to offer an incentive to prospective signings beyond some nice flags and easy access to the Bigg Market. European competition is one thing, but the implication that this is just the beginning is quite another, and you can easily understand why wandering talents could be tempted by the prospect of getting in on the ground floor - especially those with the luxury of time on their side.

At 21, Veiga has plenty of that to spare. He also has a creative, attack-minded style of play that would make him a surefire hit on Tyneside if properly replicated. This season, as per Whoscored, he ranked in the top three of Celta Vigo’s squad for shots per game, successful dribbles, and key passes made. That, in case you weren’t aware, is no mean feat.

There is also a question of minutes at play here. Having just come off the back of a La Liga campaign in which he played 36 times - scoring 11 goals and assisting four more - you would imagine that the midfielder will be seeking a new home that offers him a similar regularity of opportunity. Given the sudden pressures of a continental campaign, and - with the greatest of respect to the players who got them there - the relative quality of certain members of Newcastle’s midfield, it is not hard to envisage Veiga waltzing into Eddie Howe’s plans.

All in all, then, this could be a prospective transfer that benefits both player and club. What’s not to like?

Chelsea

I mean, maybe. Had I written this article a month or two ago, I might have made some cheap joke about Chelsea’s likelihood of success depending predominantly on Veiga’s tolerance for masochism, and then soundly dismissed the notion of him joining up with the Blues in the coming months. Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t think that Stamford Bridge is necessarily the best place for the Spaniard to continue his development, but I do think it is worth noting that things are different now. Or at least, they might be.

With Mauricio Pochettino in charge, who is to say which version of Chelsea we’re going to get next season? Common sense tells you that basket cases don’t recover overnight, but then again, on paper, they do have the raw tools required to be a serious presence. Perhaps the problem, however, is that they have too many tools.

That dressing room can very easily become a Bermuda Triangle of sorts for new signings and promising young players alike, and with such a large squad to compete with, the fear would be that Veiga might get lost in the shuffle.

Liverpool

It’s a tale as old as time; a transfer window rolls around, Liverpool enter it in need of midfielders. And hey, would you look at that - Veiga is a midfielder! Fire up the presses, there are rumours to generate!

To be fair, Anfield might not be the worst place in the world for the Celta Vigo star. If the Reds get their recruitment right this summer, they should be back in the chase for silverware on four fronts next term, and with a Europa League campaign to consider too, there should be no shortage of chances for Jurgen Klopp to properly utilise the full depth of his squad.

Then again, Liverpool have just bought Alexis Mac Allister, and while they still need reinforcements in the centre of the park, you wonder if they will perhaps focus their efforts on signing players with a more industrial, box-to-box approach.

There is a version of events where this one works out, but given recent developments on Merseyside, the stars might not quite align this time around.

The Verdict

It goes without saying that there are positives and negatives to each of Veiga’s potential destinations, but on balance, you look at the project as a whole, the opportunity that it could afford him, and the general vibe of the deal - a very important metric, of course - and you can’t help feeling that Newcastle could be the place for him.

At the very least, he is exactly the sort of player that Eddie Howe’s side should be looking to bring in over the coming weeks and months, and if their interest is as genuine as the gossip columns claim it is, the next step is to convince the player himself.