Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Disastrous Chelsea spell convinces big-money signing to leave England, with Blues to accept ‘ruinous’ and ’embarrassing’ exit

Chelsea stars Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella

Enzo Maresca will let Marc Cucurella and another Chelsea man go if he can source an upgrade

A big-money Chelsea struggler has asked his agents to secure a transfer out of the Premier League, and a report claims the Blues will facilitate an exit that’ll generate a gigantic loss.

Mistakes in the market aren’t hard to find since Todd Boehly and his Clearlake partners began running the show at Stamford Bridge.

A handful of success stories – most notably Cole Palmer – can be found, though by and large Chelsea have spent unwisely in the market.

Mauricio Pochettino could pay the price for the club’s mistakes in the market. Indeed, the Argentine – who has been persistently booed by the match-going Chelsea fans of late – is a man under the microscope.

Chelsea sit 11th in the Premier League table and unless they win the FA Cup, look highly unlikely to qualify for any European competition for a second straight season.

One big-money signing who’s struggled for form and fitness under Pochettino is left-back Marc Cucurella.

The Spaniard cost £65m (including add-ons) when signed from Brighton in 2022. However, Cucurella, 25, has spent as much time on the bench as he has on the pitch when available for selection this term. Ankle surgery also disrupted his season either side of the new year.

Cucurella is behind Ben Chilwell at left-back, while centre-back Levi Colwill was also favoured by Pochettino in the early stages of the season.

Chelsea greenlight exit; Cucurella targets LaLiga return

TEAMtalk exclusively learned back on February 12 that Chelsea are open to severing ties with Cucurella at season’s end.

Now, a fresh report out of Spain claims Cucurella is very much on board with cutting his Blues career short. In fact, it’s even stated he’s sick and tired of the Premier League and wants to leave England altogether.

The report states Cucurella has soured on playing in England amid failing to establish himself at Chelsea. As such, it’s claimed the defender has ‘asked his agents to find a new destination for him in LaLiga.’

On the subject of which Spanish sides could make a move, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid, Girona, Valencia and Getafe are all reportedly interested.

None of those clubs can afford anything close to the £65m (including add-ons) Chelsea paid Brighton. However, that might not matter for two reasons.

Initial loan exit touted

Firstly, it’s acknowledged Cucurella’s transfer value has plummeted amid his career stalling at Stamford Bridge. Secondly, his exit may initially come via the loan route.

To that end, the report notes Chelsea would be willing to subsidise a portion of Cucurella’s salary to help him seal a loan exit. Any such agreement would, presumably, come with an option/obligation to buy.

Nonetheless, the amount any future transfer would be set at via the option/obligation is likely to be far below the transfer fee paid to Brighton less than two years ago.

As such, the Spanish report state Cucurella’s eventual permanent exit will represent ‘ruinous business’ for the Blues.

Piggybacking on the same report, Caught Offside describe making an anticipated huge loss on Cucurella as ’embarrassing’ for Chelsea and their decision-makers.

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