Chelsea are exploring the chance to hijack Manchester City’s bid for Brighton full-back Marc Cucurella after a £50m deal stalled.
The Cityzens have pulled out of a deal for the Seagulls defender, having seen a £40m bid knocked back by the south coast side, who are holding out for a fee higher than the £50m that they received for Ben White last summer.
Manchester City have since walked away from the deal, unwilling to meet that valuation despite Cucurella himself handing in a transfer request to Graham Potter’s side, and are lining up potential alternatives should Brighton not soften their current hardline stance on the defender.
And, as per the Daily Mail, this could give Chelsea a chance to hijack the deal, with Thomas Tuchel and co. exploring a move for the full-back as they look to find competent cover for their back line.
Exclusive: Chelsea are exploring a move to beat Manchester City to Marc Cucurella as they ask Brighton about £50m-rated defender. There is a feeling Spaniard has heart set on Guardiola & City, but deal has stalled over asking price #cfc #mcfc https://t.co/IyBgu4ilQ8
— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) August 1, 2022
Chelsea have twice been the victims of hijacked deals this summer, with Jules Kounde and Raphinha both seemingly on their way to west London before Barcelona intervened, with both players now turning out for the Camp Nou side.
But, in Cucurella, they could find themselves on the right side of a transfer saga this summer.
Do Chelsea need Cucurella?
While the Spaniard is an upgrade on the current back-ups, and with Chilwell recovering from injury, Tuchel will need to solve the logjam first.
Cucurella has spent time playing at centre-back in a back three for Brighton, but would be far from a natural option there.
On the face of it then, a move for Cucurella at this point makes little sense unless moves for the backup left-backs are in the pipeline,
