For pretty much the whole of the summer, Manchester City have been embarked on a so far fruitless pursuit of Brighton’s talented Spanish left back Marc Cucurella.
Of course, Pep Guardiola is keen to strengthen the left side of his defence having sanctioned the sale of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal for around £35 million.
The Citizens have failed to meet Brighton’s £50 million asking price, and it has now been reported that Chelsea are interested in signing the defender. But would this be a good fit for the Blues?
Why Are Chelsea Interested in Cucurella?
Having lost central defenders Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger on free transfers this summer, Chelsea have largely pursued centre halves to plug the holes in their defence.
However, the £34 million signing of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli has assuaged some of these concerns, with manager Thomas Tuchel having now switched his attention to addressing the left side of his defence.
The reason for this is simple, with England left back Ben Chilwell having only returned from injury and Marcos Alonso being continually linked with a move to Barcelona (both individually and potentially as part of a deal to secure the services of Frenkie de Jong).
Brazilian wingback Emerson has also yet to convince Tuchel of his ability, creating a potential gap that needs to be filled ahead of the new season.
Is Cucurella a Good Option for the Blues?
The question that remains, of course, is whether the 24-year-old will be a good fit for the Blues?
The short answer is yes, whether Tuchel reverts to his apparently favoured 3-4-2-1 formation or sticks with the 4-2-3-1 system he has utilised during much of the pre-season.
Either way, the technically excellent and attack-minded Cucurella will provide a good cultural fit, especially in a team that likes to dominate with structured possession and push their wide players high up the pitch.
Cucerella’s grounding as a former Barcelona academy graduate has also equipped him with excellent pressing skills and positional awareness, so he’ll do well in Tuchel’s tactically advanced systems and style of play.
A fee of £50 million would arguably be less of a sticking point for the Blues too, who have spent a relatively modest amount so far this season and new owners who are looking to stamp their mark on the side.
So, although it’s thought that Cucurella would prefer a move to City at this stage (he allegedly issued a formal transfer request last week), Chelsea could yet make a decisive move and secure a relatively quick deal.
The Last Word
This deal would definitely strengthen the Blues’ squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, potentially enhancing their average price of around 18/1 to win the EPL title.
You can leverage the PNXbet welcome offer to place such a bet, although these odds are likely to shorten quickly once the season commences.
This will definitely be an interesting space to watch in the next few weeks and ahead of the summer transfer deadline, with Chelsea more than capable of scuppering City’s plans and adding an incredibly talented left back to an already impressive squad.
