Chelsea FC are willing to sign Brighton’s left-back, Marc Cucurella at £50m asking price after Champions Manchester City had their £30m bid turned down last week.
The Spaniard joined Brighton from Getafe for £15m last summer and was named as the club’s player of the season after impressing in his debut campaign.
Cucurella 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.
Sky Sports reports on Monday that the Seagulls had previously rejected a £30m bid for the defender from Pep Guardiola’s side, who are looking for a replacement for Oleksandr Zinchenko after he joined Arsenal.
Thomas Tuchel’s side which had only signed Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli still keeps abreast of market to sign players to fortify the side that finished third on Premier League table last season.
Cucurella’s compatriot, Marcos Alonso has been linked to exiting the club as Barcelona looks the most promising 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.
Chelsea have 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.
However, 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.
