Marc Cucurella (Getty Images)
According to AS (h/t The Express), Chelsea are ready to make a £27m bid for Getafe star Marc Cucurella in the summer.
Cucurella, 22, spent time at the academies of Alella and Espanyol before rising through the ranks of Barcelona’s youth system. However, he managed to feature in just one game for the La Liga giants before moving out on loan spells to Eibar and Getafe. His move was made permanent to the latter club earlier this month.
The youngster was instrumental for Getafe throughout the season. His development in the last few seasons have also garnered the attention of several clubs across Europe. Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are also interested in securing the services of Cucurella, as per the report. And this shows his ability to take his game to the next level.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have enjoyed a superb campaign in Frank Lampard’s first season in charge. Despite not being able to spend heavily in the last two transfer windows, the manager made the best use of his players and several youngsters performed well to qualify for the Champions League next season.
However, they have signed two future stars in Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech and now, it is time for the manager to bring in reinforcements to several other key areas.
At the moment, only two left-backs are available at Lampard’s disposal. Spaniard Marcos Alonso has seen a huge dip in his form and was left out of the squad on several occasions. But he did get back to the team in the last few months and performed decently.
The other left-back is Emerson Palmieri. The Italian has been frozen out by Lampard and has rarely featured in the latter stages of the campaign. And both the left-backs have failed to claim the spot for themselves. Thus, signing a young defender would help them in the future.
In that regard, Cucurella seems to be a sensible option for the club. The Spanish U21 international featured in 37 La Liga games this term, scoring 1 goal and providing 6 assists. And he ended up as Getafe’s highest assist-provider. The former Barcelona man is a versatile player and is capable of operating at both ends on the left side of the pitch.
His inclusion would certainly add depth to Chelsea’s squad as both Emerson and Alonso are linked with a move elsewhere. In that case, Cucurella can be a direct replacement as he has got some experience at a higher level. And if he is able to develop under the guidance of Lampard, he can be the first-choice left-back for Chelsea in the years to come.
The Blues have been miserable defensively this season and it is clear that the manager needs to bring a change to their backline. And signing Cucurella would be a massive boost to the squad. He is just 22 and has a lot of room for development. Thus, they should attempt to lure the Spaniard to Stamford Bridge and keep him for the future.
