Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca was expecting defender Renato Veiga to train with his squad on Monday amid reports he is about to be sold, and hinted the 21-year-old owes his international recognition with Portugal to the club.

Veiga was uncapped at senior level when arriving from Basel for around £11million in July but his performances at Stamford Bridge earned him a first call-up in September, making his debut against Poland in the Nations League the following month.

Reports suggest a move to Borussia Dortmund initially on loan could be imminent, with the player – who has primarily been used as a left-back by Maresca – keen to play more in the centre of defence.

He has started only one game in the Premier League, September’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth, with the majority of his appearances having come in cup competitions, a contributing factor in his desire to explore options elsewhere.

“I’m not aware that there is an agreement for Renato,” said Maresca.

“Yesterday he was here with us working, today he’ll be here with us. At the moment he’s our player. We’ll see if something happens.

“The only thing I can say is that we bought him from Basel, he’s played different positions, played well, and this has allowed him to join the national team for the first time in his life.

“Even if he’s not playing in his position, he’s playing for his national team which means that in the position he is playing, he can do well.

“In this case, a young player who is 21 years, joined Chelsea and started to play in four or five different positions, that’s given him the chance to join his national team so we are very proud of that.”

Maresca has said repeatedly that he expects his players to be able to play in several different positions.

Veiga has won praise this season for his versatility, fulfilling a range of duties in defence and in midfield, and was seemingly the archetype of what Maresca wants from his squad.

The Italian said he had spoken to the former Sporting Lisbon player about the importance of adaptability in modern football and about the trajectory his career is on since joining Chelsea, but was unable to say whether the player will stay.

“I had a chat with him, I said exactly what I said to you,” said Maresca.

“Playing in the position he’s in with us has given him the chance to join his national team, the chance to get speculation around him. That means clubs are looking for him, clubs are looking for players that are doing well.

“If there’s a player that just wants to play in only one position, he’s going to struggle. They have to adapt.”

Asked about Veiga’s desire to play more often, Maresca said: “I also want long hair. We have more than 20 players, they all want to play but it’s not possible.”

Maresca said there have been no offers for Ben Chilwell and pointed to a lack of flexibility as the reason the defender is not in his plans.

“The reason is because I can see (Malo) Gusto or Reece (James) or (Marc) Cucurella doing different kinds of  jobs during the game,” he said.

“I think Chilwell is a top full-back doing the job up and down (the wing), it’s given him the opportunity in the past to win titles and play for the national team. But I struggle to see Ben doing different kinds of things.”