Chelsea
are in advanced talks to sign Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella, with the
Blues willing to pay the £50m asking price for the Manchester City target.
The Spaniard handed in a transfer request on Friday in a bid to push through
a move to City but the Premier League champions will not pay Brighton's
asking price, with Chelsea now in pole position to sign the 24-year-old.
The Seagulls had previously rejected a £30m bid for the full-back from Pep
Guardiola's side, who are looking for a replacement for Oleksandr Zinchenko
after he joined Arsenal.
Cucurella enjoyed a hugely successful first Premier League season after
joining from Getafe in a deal worth around £15m last summer and was named
Brighton's player of the season.
Brighton do not want to let Cucurella leave and it would take a huge offer
for them to sell as he has four years remaining on his contract at the Amex.
However, the left-back has now pushed for a move by asking to be sold.
Chelsea have now moved for Cucurella with doubts surrounding the future of
left-back Marcos Alonso, with Barcelona reportedly wanting to sign the
31-year-old this summer. Blues captain Cesar Azpilicueta is also wanted by
the Spanish giants with the defender having one year left on his deal.
First-choice left-back Ben Chilwell, who joined from Leicester in August
2020 for £50m, missed the majority of last season with a knee injury but has
returned to full fitness in pre-season.
Thomas Tuchel's side have made two signings this summer with the arrivals of
Raheem Sterling for £47.5m from City and defender Kalidou Koulibaly from
Napoli in a £33m deal.
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