Chelsea are ready to make a €30 million bid for Getafe’s Marc Cucurella as they look for an alternative for Ben Chilwell.
According to a report published by AS, Chelsea have identified Getafe left-back Marc Cucurella as their alternative to Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell and have prepared a €30 million bid for him.
Cucurella came through the famed La Masia and joined Barcelona’s first team in July 2018 but was loaned out a month later to Eibar. After a string of impressive displays with Eibar, the Spaniard was loaned out yet again to Getafe.
In 2019/20, the only time you could not see Cucurella on the pitch was the game against RCD Mallorca due to a suspension. He registered one goal and five assists through the course of the season being deployed as a wide midfielder on the left side instead of a full-back.
However, playing for Getafe has helped him develop several defensive qualities because of their robust gameplay. His defensive output has increased from the last season which is visible through his numbers. He now makes one successful interception per game, and also averages two successful tackles per game as opposed to 0.6 and 1.6 respectively from last season.
Chelsea are in dire need of defensive reinforcements which has been evident through the suspect performances of Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and their left-backs Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri. Now and then Cesar Azpilicueta takes up that position owing to their inconsistencies.
It is no surprise that Frank Lampard has been fishing for defenders, and they have been linked with several players, namely Ben Chilwell, Alex Telles, and Nicolas Tagliafico. However, at the moment, all three of these players seem to be out of their reach. Cucurella’s name has come up as a possible alternative if they are unable to land any of these three, and are reportedly happy to shell out €30 million for his services.
The 22-year-old is exceptionally versatile and can play anywhere across the left flank, even though he has primarily been deployed as a left-midfielder. He is a tremendous worker and is challenging to get past because of his speed and ability to react very quickly. He could be instrumental in both a 3-4-3 as a wing-back or as a full-back in a four-man backline.
The problem with this, though, is that Getafe only recently purchased Cucurella permanently. He was at loan to the Spanish outfit for the season with the activating clause set at €6 million and Barca receiving a massive 40% of any future sales. After some haggling, the clubs decided that it would be fair if Getafe pay €10 million for the Spaniard, but Barcelona receive just 10% of his future sales.
A profit of nearly €20 million could be huge for the Azulones, who operate on a minimal budget. Moreover, they have been unable to qualify for the Europa League this season and would lose a lot of funding because of the same. There are clearly a lot of clauses at play here, and it will be interesting to see this transfer story unfold in the coming weeks.
