Chelsea complete signing of Cucurella from Brighton

Chelsea have signed Marc Cucurella from Brighton as Thomas Tuchel’s summer spending spree continues.

The Spanish defender was a much sought-after player in the summer transfer window as Manchester City and Barcelona were also interested in landing him.

After joining Brighton in the summer of 2021 from Spanish side Getafe for a reported fee of £15.4 million, he is again on the move.

He had a fantastic season with the Seagulls which saw him win the Players’ Player of the Season and being voted Player of the Season.

Chelsea will pay Brighton £55 million (€65m/$67m) plus a potential £7m in add-ons to sign Cucurella from Brighton.

The arrival of the defender has been a source of some controversy, after Brighton denied earlier this week that a deal had been done.

They wrote on Twitter: “CLUB STATEMENT: MARC CUCURELLA. Contrary to inaccurate reports from numerous media outlets this evening, no agreement has been reached with any club to sell Marc Cucurella.”

How that the transfer has gone through however, Chelsea turned this on its head with a tweet of their own taking aim at the Seagulls with tongue in cheek.

Cucurella was wanted by Manchester City earlier in the summer but the club did not agree with the £50m valuation of the player. They submitted an initial bid of £30m which got rejected and then put in an improved offer of £40m which was also rebuffed by the Seagulls.

Barcelona were also one of the suitors of the defender and he was open to a move to the La Liga outfit as he hails from Catalonia. However, the deal could not go through as Brighton stuck to their price tag. Chelsea were given a window to initiate talks and the Blues agreed to pay the amount.

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During the negotiations, Brighton were also pushing to sign youngster Levi Colwill – and that deal has also now been completed, the versatile defender arriving on a season-long loan.

Cucurella should seamlessly slot in at the left-back position at Chelsea. However, he will face stiff competition from Ben Chilwell who will look to regain his mojo after an injury-marred 2021-22 campaign.

He was part of Chelsea’s trip to the United States in pre-season and looked primed to get back in competitive action.

Marcus Alonso is another candidate for the left-wing back position. He is one of Tuchel’s trusted lieutenants and has been used extensively in pre-season.

However, he is being touted for a move away from the club to Barcelona which should reduce competition for the new signing.