Chelsea has reached a deal with Brighton & Hove Albion for left-back Marc Cucurella. According to Fabrizio Romano, they are in the process of hijacking Manchester City’s pursuit of the “world-class” 24-year-old after negotiations on a transfer fee stagnated.
Manchester City is failing to meet Brighton and Hove Albion’s demands.
City has had their sights firmly set on the left-back since the departure of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal earlier in the transfer window. The club has been actively pursuing the star as their final target this summer.
It was reported that the Spaniard would have liked a move to the reigning Premier League champions, however, talks began to stall between the Manchester club and Brighton.
Pep Guardiola’s side showed reluctance to meet Brighton’s £50 million price tag on their player, and City’s last bid of £40million was rejected.
The 24-year-old made his stance clear to his club by handing in a transfer request on July 29.
Now, Chelsea is hoping to hijack the deal and bring Cucurella to West London in order to bolster their defense ahead of the forthcoming season.
Thomas Tuchel and his team are looking to include talented youngster Levi Colwill as part of the deal to try and price Cucurella from Brighton.
Read more: ‘Here We Go!’ – Fabrizio Romano Reveals ‘Unbelievable’ Player Is Coming to London to Complete Chelsea Transfer
The Club World Cup winners have overseen the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer, and have since been working to replace the experienced defenders.
They narrowly missed out on the signing of 23-year-old Jules Kounde, who opted for a move to Barcelona after holding talks with Chelsea.
Read more: Manchester City Defender to Stay at Club Despite Chelsea Interest
Cucurella a Likely Starter for Both Sides
Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and left-back Marcos Alonso have been linked with transfers to Barcelona, as the pair has one year remaining on their contracts. This would leave the Blues with a severe lack of depth in their backline, and so they are trying to rectify this in the summer.
City also has very few options at full-back; only Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker can cover the positions naturally in the senior squad.
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